The Cleantech Avenger

November 7, 2008 - by the Cleantech Avenger - Is Nancy Floyd joining the blue wave? Should Elon Musk start pinching his pennies? Can one blogger really bankroll another? Find out in the latest installment of ... the Cleantech Avenger!

I like having friends in high places.

Whether it’s getting out of parking tickets or securing coveted front row seats, a few well-placed friends can help grease the wheels when I find a wall I just can’t fly through.

So the entire cleantech world should be rejoicing over the speculation that some of our own could be joining the ranks of the White House: within the U.S. Department of Energy, as green czar, or as the official White House dogsitter, a surprisingly dangerous job.

Floyd: Great Gig in The Sky?
Despite persistent rumors, cleantech investor Nancy Floyd, contacted directly, won’t confirm or deny whether she’s been tapped by the Obama transition team for a post in the new administration.

Others at her legendary clean technology investment firm, Nth Power, also declined to comment on whether they could be losing Floyd, who made waves with her impassioned speech at the U.S. Democratic National Convention.

Other scuttlebutt in the blogosphere is that the U.S. President-elect is courting cleantech investor Steve Westly and Google green czar Dan Reicher for high-profile energy positions. Republican California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has also been rumored to be a candidate, which could bridge long-standing political differences with his Kennedy-family wife, Maria Shriver.

One trustworthy cleantech insider has named Dan Kammen, director of the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory at the University of California at Berkeley. When asked directly, Kammen declined to comment and directed your intrepid Avenger to Obama’s transition team—which was unsurprisingly unresponsive.

Do I get a referral bonus?
If Obama is interested in a superhero’s perspective, I can name at least one guy who could be looking for a job.

Range Fuels CEO Mitch Mandich stepped aside this week to let former Royal Dutch Shell exec David Aldous lead the cellulosic ethanol company through some troubled times in the industry.

Mandich, now appointed chairman, helped the Vinod Khosla-funded company secure $80 million in government grants and $100 million in equity.

Range Fuels plans to build the world's first commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant in Georgia, with construction of the first phase slated to finish in late 2009, with a capacity to produce 20 million gallons a year.

In making the announcement, Range Fuels didn’t let on to any problems, but the ethanol industry has taken a beating in recent weeks.

Sioux Falls, S.D.-based ethanol leader VeraSun Energy has filed for bankruptcy and delayed the opening of two of its Minnesota plants. Its troubles began when it came out on the wrong side of a hedging strategy. In August, Denver, Colo.-based ethanol firm Biofuel Energy Corp. also blamed a hedging strategy for its financial troubles.

Other struggling ethanol ventures include Chesterfield, Mo.-based Abengoa Bioenergy New Technologies, which temporarily closed its ethanol plant in Portales, N.M. Also citing the economy, Bioenergy Development has scrapped plans for a $62 million ethanol plant near Gary, Indiana. And Pratt, Kan.-based Gateway Ethanol filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection following news that it defaulted on a $54 million loan. The 55-million-gallon plant began production in 2007 but was forced to close because of its financial troubles.

Speaking of taking a beating
Certain early-stage, unproven technology cleantech investments by entrepreneur Elon Musk look even riskier after a rough few weeks for some of his portfolio companies.

Musk, who made his fortune as co-founder of PayPal, has put his money into Bay Area startups Climos and Tesla Motors, among others.

Climos told the Cleantech Group commercialization is "a question for the future," after the international body governing the world's oceans said it would only consider projects for scientific research.

And Tesla sailed through $145 million in venture funding, leaving just $9 million a few weeks ago and prompting a new $40 million round of convertible debt financing. Customer panic over their deposits for undelivered Roadsters also elicited promises from Musk to use his personal fortune to cover any of the company’s obligations.

Greentech blogger invests in cleantech blogger
In happier news, cleantech investment continues to grow, but days like today remind the Avenger that it’s a small, small world.

Rob Day, who writes the longstanding blog Cleantech Investing, announced today that his firm @Ventures invested $1 million into a startup by Cleantech Blog founding contributor Neal Dikeman.

“We previously hadn’t done business together other than swapping articles,” Dikeman told yours truly.

Dikeman’s CarbonFlow is set to launch its first product next month: software for carbon-market participants.

“It’s a deal cooked up in the blogosphere, conducted in the blogosphere and handled all through e-mail,” Dikeman noted. “I don’t think Rob has even seen our office.”

See something happening in the industry that we should know about? Pending cabinet appointees? Other scuttlebutt? As always, your friendly Avenger welcomes industry tips.