Apple exploring cars, medical devices to reignite growth/That car is Tesla

This is a very interesting potential deal to look at.  Years ago it would have been unheard, unthinkable, for a tech company to buy an auto manufacturer.  Not today, though.  So much of the future of transportation now rides on technology and innovation.  Of course, Apple would bring amazing talents to the design side as well.

An investment and acquisition by Apple of Tesla would further affirm Tesla's potential as a major, global player.  Not many companies build value in a brand like Apple, and Monk would be a great addition to the Apple talented team.

We love seeing any investment in EV's and welcome this possible collaboration between Apple and Tesla:

"Adrian Perica is a very busy man. Over the past 18 months, the mergers and acquisitions chief at Apple has been scouring the globe looking for deals, snatching up everything from search engines and data analytics to mapping software and motion tracking chips.

Such a buying spree has ignited fierce speculation in tech circles and on Wall Street about Apple's future ambitions, especially as smartphone and tablet sales start to slow. Most of that speculation has centered on wearable technology or perhaps a souped-up upgrade of Apple TV.

But Apple is thinking bigger. Much bigger.

A source tells The Chronicle that Perica met with Tesla CEO Elon Musk in Cupertino last spring around the same time analysts suggested Apple acquire the electric car giant.

A spokeswoman for Tesla declined to comment. Apple did not respond to a request for comment.

The newspaper has also learned that Apple is heavily exploring medical devices, specifically sensor technology that can help predict heart attacks. Led by Tomlinson Holman, a renowned audio engineer who invented THX and 10.2 surround sound, Apple is exploring ways to predict heart attacks by studying the sound blood makes at it flows through arteries.

Taken together, Apple's potential forays into automobiles and medical devices, two industries worlds away from consumer electronics, underscore the company's deep desire to move away from iPhones and iPads and take big risks.

"Apple must increasingly rely on new products to reignite growth beyond the vision" of late founder Steve Jobs, said Bill Kreher, an analyst with Edward Jones Investments in St. Louis. "They need the next big thing."

Actions suggest urgency

Of course, Apple's dalliances may never bear fruit - so to speak. With funds of almost $160 billion in cash and investments, the company can afford to indulge a bit.

But Apple's moves of late suggest a bit more urgency. Since the company hired Perica from Goldman Sachs in 2009, Apple has quickened its pace of acquisitions. Last month, the company disclosed in a regulatory filing that it spent $525 million on deals in the previous quarter, almost double what it spent for the entire previous year.

While iPhones and iPads remain tremendously popular, the U.S. market for smartphones and tablets is quickly maturing. At home and overseas, Apple faces strong competition from Android-based mobile devices.

Until now, most of Wall Street's attention has focused on Apple's long rumored iWatch device. Along with Google Glass, such "wearable technology" represents the next wave of consumer electronics.

Wearable devices a good fit

Wearable devices make intuitive sense for Apple; electric cars and cardiac monitors not as much. And that's exactly why Apple should pursue those ideas, some analysts say.

In October 2013, German investment banking analyst Adnaan Ahmad created a media stir when he wrote an "open letter" to Apple CEO Tim Cook and board director Al Gore, urging the company to acquire Tesla.

"I know this is radical and potentially 'transformative' but this would radically alter Apple's growth profile," Ahmad wrote. "In Elon Musk, you could strike up a partnership and obtain a new iconic partner to lead Apple's innovation drive."

As it turns out, Apple already had the same idea.

Six months before Ahmad's letter, Musk met with Perica and probably Cook at Apple headquarters, said the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect business relationships. While a megadeal has yet to emerge (for all of its cash, Apple still plays hardball on valuation), such a high-level meeting between the two Silicon Valley giants involving their top dealmakers suggests Apple was very much interested in buying the electric car pioneer.

Analysts say it's unclear what Tesla would gain from such a deal..."

Spider Man becomes Earth Hour Ambassador

Welcome, Spider Man, to the green team.


It’s lights out on March 29th at 8:30pm, and Spider-Man is making sure of it! The superhero is the first superhero ambassador for Earth Hour, a global initiative organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature to engage the masses in a wide range of environmental issues. This super cool partnership was created with the hopes of inspiring people to become superheroes for the planet and use their powers for the good of Mother Earth.

CEO and Co-Founder of Earth Hour, Andy Ridley, and Jeff Blake, Chairman, Worldwide Marketing and Distribution, Sony Pictures Entertainment, announced the ambassadorship with the launch of Earth Hour Blue, “a radical new digital crowdfunding and crowdsourcing platform for the planet”. This year, the stars of the upcoming “Spider-Man 2″, Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx and the film’s director, Marc Webb, are championing for Earth Hour Blue to raise funds for environmental projects across the globe.

Andrew Garfield, Spider-Man himself, said, “I’m proud Spider-Man is the first Super Hero ambassador for Earth Hour because he shows we can all be Super Heroes when we realize the power we all have. Earth Hour is a movement that has created massive impact around the world, so imagine what we can do this year with Spider-Man by our side.”

Emma Stone added, “Earth Hour gives you the power to inspire anyone, even if you’re just one person, and Earth Hour is much more than an hour. There are great projects from the crowd, for the planet, happening all over the world.”

Global participants in the movement can become a part of some amazing causes, including ending shark finning and saving the Great Barrier Reef. Ridley stated, “The idea of Earth Hour has grown beyond anything we could have dreamed. This year with the help of Spider-Man by our side, we are taking the movement to the next stage. We hope that Spider-Man will empower individuals to be Super Heroes for the planet, and use their voice or their dollar to support projects or campaigns around the world. It’s about harnessing the power of the crowd. That’s what Earth Hour Blue is all about.”

“The Amazing Spider-Man 2″ has become the most eco-friendly and earth charitable production in the history of Columbia Pictures, donating its efforts to several worthy causes around the world. Let’s all go out and support this admirable production. And remember, lights out. Spider-Man is watching!

Peace is good for the economy

Thanks to Greg Gerritt for sending this over to us.  Though we certainly understood there was costs to war, the percentage drag on the global economy surprised us.  We are wondering, though, if that is net of jobs, investment that directly fuels war and military systems?

From a pure sustainability prism, putting that 11% into transportation/grid/energy improvements would kick us into very high gear.  War is messy business.   Green is not.

Thanks to the Institute for Economics and Peace for this report.

Peace is good for the economy

Foreign Policy in Focus - The Institute for Economics and Peace has calculated that war and violence worldwide has a net 11-percent drag on the global economy. The IEP’s Global Peace Index ranks countries based on their peacefulness, and the correlation between peace and prosperity is almost absolute. GDP per capita rises by approximately $3,000 for every ten places higher in the peace index. The data indicates a clear correlation between peacefulness and prosperity. With the exception of a few statistical outliers, peaceful countries are prosperous and countries mired in violence are not.

The United States ranks 99 out of 162 countries in the 2013 Index. The low status is due to internal factors such as violent crime and the world’s highest incarceration rate, as well as external engagement in warfare and high military spending. As a prosperous country, the United States is among the few exceptions to the peace and prosperity correlation, but we could do better on both counts. The IEP publication Violence Containment in the United States concludes that “If policy makers clearly understood the economic burden of non-productive violence containment, then improving the levels of peacefulness would be seen as central to long term structural reforms.

Earth Policy Institute/Today's Show

We've been working to bring them on the show for awhile and, thanks to our Boston Co-host, Jack Gregg, we interviewed one of their key researchers, J. Mathew Roney.  We recorded the show and will broadcast it soon on WARL 1320 AM, and their great worldwide stream, http://1320warlradio.com/gs/.

Here's background on Matt and EPI



J Matthew Roney, Research Associate, graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 2006 with a BS in Environmental Conservation, summa cum laude. Matt has been with Earth Policy Institute since 2007, working closely with the research team on many publications and scanning internet resources for relevant news clips and scientific studies. In 2012, Matt completed a master’s degree in environmental sciences and policy from Johns Hopkins University.

Earth Policy Institute is an independent non-profit environmental organization based in Washington DC in the United States. It was founded by Lester R. Brown in 2001 and functions as an environmental think-tank, providing research and analysis on environmental indicators and making policy and lifestyle recommendations aimed at promoting environmental and economic sustainability.

Cited by environmental advocates,^[1] as well as policymakers and journalists^[2] alike, the Institute is a nonprofit that provides articles, data resources, and select free downloads of their books on their website.

The Earth Policy Institute functions as a think-tank, providing policy research and recommendations on sustainable development and living, as well as on environmental issues.

EPI’s goals are (1) to provide a global plan for moving the world onto an environmentally and economically sustainable path, (2) to provide examples demonstrating how the plan would work, and (3) to keep the media, policymakers, academics, environmentalists, and other decision-makers focused on the process of building a Plan B economy.

As promised, more good news on the solar side

US Solar Employment Growing at 10 Times the National Average

When it comes to job creation, it appears that the U.S. economy has undergone radical change over the past couple of decades as the full extent of neoconservative economic, trade and tax policies, along with rapid technological change, have been more fully realized.

Historically wide and growing disparities in wealth and income in developed and developing countries alike was a focal point of discussion for the world’s super-wealthy at this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, while the need to create more and better jobs and economic opportunities for all Americans was the theme of President Obama’s State of the Union (SOTU) address Tuesday evening.

The potential to spur sustainable, well-paying job growth — as well as lasting environmental and social benefits — has been one of the principal reasons the president has espoused policies and legislation that promote and foster development of renewable energy and clean technology. Though policies, legislation and regulations aimed at fostering "green" job growth have been criticized, refuted, opposed and undermined, the latest report from the Solar Foundation reveals that the U.S. solar energy sector continues to create jobs at a much higher rate than the economy overall.

56 new U.S. solar jobs a day — for over a year

Nearly 24,000 Americans got jobs in the U.S. solar industry in 2013, bringing the total number of U.S. solar industry jobs to 142,698 as of November 2013, according to the Solar Foundation’s, "National Solar Jobs Census 2013."

"Employment in the U.S. solar industry has been rising at a nearly 20 percent rate since 2012, 10 times faster than that for average national employment, according to the Solar Foundation’s report. The U.S. solar energy sector added an average 56 new employees a day between September 2012 and November 2013, surpassing forecasts."

- See more at: http://renewablenow.biz/renewable-business.html#sthash.mxldTWh9.dpuf

SunEdison, Saudi Arabia Considering $6.4 billion Solar PV Plant

What a wild ride it has been for Sun Edison as evidenced by this story we ran this week on renewablenow.biz.  From humble beginnings on the rooftop of a supermarket in Providence, RI (a rooftop we can see from our studios in Providence), to a feasibility study for installing a grid-sized PV system in Saudi Arabia, this is one of our great success stories and highlights the phenomenal growth in the green economy.

This story gives us insight, too, into the changing investments in clean energy ramping up across the globe, including, very interestingly, in oil-rich nations like Saudi Arabia.  What a potentially powerful economic change that is starting to take shape.

We hope to see this system built out and we'll be there to report on their success:

SunEdison, the company that started right from a supermarket roof top in Providence, RI is now now helping to turn one of the world's oil producing capitals into a sustainable kingdom. Pretty impressive when you think that a company like SunEdison humble begiinngs began in the smallest State in the U.S.  And for those of us here at ReNewable Now we hope this story inspires other businesses to see the possibilities that could be right in your own community. Nothing is impossible.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is positioning itself as a future solar energy powerhouse, with industry heavyweight SunEdison announcing it will join with local agencies in a feasibility study for the construction of an estimated $6.4 billion, 3 GW solar PV (photovoltaic) manufacturing plant at Wa'ad Al Shammal.
 
The announcement follows successful preliminary talks in 2013 between SunEdison and KSA’s National Industrial Clusters Development Program (NICDP), a government agency designed to foster growth in five specific industries, including solar energy.
 
The Government of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and the Saudi Arabian Investment Company (Sanabil Investments) have both committed to the proposed project.

The plant would use SunEdison's proprietary high pressure silane fluidized bed reactor (HP-FBR) polysilicon and continuous Czochralski (CCz) crystal ingot technology to produce solar wafers, cells and panels for domestic use and to further develop the Kingdom’s solar export market.
 
"We anticipate substantial growth of solar PV within the Kingdom and the region. This project will support that growth, and the growth aspirations of SunEdison and our Saudi partners," said Ahmad Chatila, CEO of SunEdison.
 
“The combination of SunEdison technology, and the Kingdom's world-class manufacturing and energy sector expertise will enable us to capitalize on substantial growth in the Kingdom and the region, and maximize the value of solar PV projects supported by this venture.”

The proposed plant has strong government support, with Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Petroleum and Minerals and the Saudi Electrical Company (SEC) pledging to provide natural gas and other energy needs should construction begin; which could occur in 2017.

Eng. Azzam Shalabi, President of NICDP said, “This project will be capable of building a complete industrial eco-system that is sustainable and able to compete on a global level by utilizing pioneering technology developed by SunEdison to produce high purity polysilicon, and high-efficiency, low-cost mono-crystalline ingots, in addition to benefiting from economies of scale given the size and vertically integrated nature of the complex.”

Next up:  Story on continued positive employment trends in the solar industry.

Lockheed inks deal to produce energy from ocean waves in Australia

This is a great story that we talked about yesterday with our Boston co-host, Jack Greg, who sent us this.   Clean energy spans lots of technologies.  Here in New England we have tremendous potential using wave energy.  Certainly, too, the installation would be less controversial then wind.

It also strikes us that Lockheed is a company in transition, doing a nice job of positioning for the future and getting fully engaged in the green economy.  With a starred history of space exploration, defense-related innovation and much more, Lockheed certainly has the resources and brain trust to push large-scale, clean projects like this one in Australia.

We commend everyone here for a great investment in the business side of green, and we'll reach out to Lockheed and others to do a radio show on this:

 BY ANDREA SHALAL-ESA

WASHINGTON Tue Feb 11, 2014 9:13am EST

(Reuters) - Top U.S. arms maker Lockheed Martin Corp on Tuesday said it had signed an agreement with a unit of Ocean Power Technologies Inc to harness the motion of ocean waves to generate electricity off the coast of Victoria, Australia.

The A$230 million ($205.68 million) deal will produce the world's largest wave energy project using power buoys designed by Ocean Power Technologies that tap energy from the surface motion of waves.

Once completed around 2018 or 2019, the project will generate 62.5 megawatts of peak power, enough to meet the needs of 10,000 homes, Lockheed said. That is about one-third the capacity of a small coal-fired power plant in the United States.

"Ocean energy is a tremendously large, untapped resource which has global applicability," said Tim Fuhr, director of ocean energy for Lockheed. "You can pretty much get ocean energy on coastlines around the world. It's essentially clean and the fuel is free."

The agreement is part of a drive by Lockheed - the maker of F-35 fighter jets and coastal warships - to expand its foothold in the alternative energy business as it seeks to offset a slump in U.S. and European military budgets.

The company last year announced a deal with Chinese consumer firm Reignwood Group to design the biggest power station fueled by differences in ocean temperatures.

Energy from ocean waves is more predictable than wind and solar energy, and can generate electricity for more hours in the year than other alternate energy sources, Lockheed said.

The power buoys to be used in this project will rise about 30 feet out of the water, far smaller than wind turbines, which are typically 130 feet tall and have drawn public resistance.

Fuhr said Lockheed had worked with Ocean Power Technologies on several smaller projects for the U.S. Department of Energy since 2004, and kicked off initial work on this project about 18 months ago. Lockheed recently signed an agreement with Victorian Wave Partners, an Australian special purpose company owned by Ocean Power, to develop the wave project.

The goal is to complete the first phase by 2014 or 2015, producing about 2.5 megawatts of peak power, Lockheed said.

Fuhr said Lockheed hoped to leverage its design and engineering skills to help commercialize the new energy source in coming years. Under the agreement with Victorian Wave, Lockheed will handle overall management of the project, assist with design for manufacturing of the power buoys, produce selected components, and integrate the wave energy converters.

Lockheed was part of a consortium that built the first net-power producing facility in the 1970s based on ocean thermal energy conversion. Since then, it has invested tens of millions of dollars in ocean energy initiatives, Fuhr said.

He said Lockheed was beginning to see revenues from those investments, but declined to provide estimates for the amount. The company does not break down revenues by individual sectors.

Fuhr said he expected it to take until the 2020s before different forms of ocean energy accounted for a significant percentage of world energy production. Countries such asAustralia and Britain were among the most forward leaning at the moment, although there are some U.S. projects as well, he added.

($1 = 1.1183 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)