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Enron Mail |
WoodFuel.com allies with Future Energy
HOUSTON, Dec. 6 (LocalBusiness.com) -- Houston-based WoodFuel.com has teamed up with Atlanta's Future Energy Resources Corp. to supply raw wood materials that are targeted to fire up environmentally friendly power plants in Texas. The power-generating stations would use Future Energy's SilvaGas process, which converts agricultural, municipal and forestry wastes into a clean-burning gas that substitutes for natural gas. The process is designed to significantly reduce environmental impact compared to fossil fuel-based power plants, including the elimination of net carbon dioxide emissions, the company said. "Texas regulations and energy demands make Texas an ideal location for green energy," said Asfaha Tesfai, senior VP of business development for Future Energy. "This alliance will ensure sufficient fuel availability to proceed with project development." In August, Future Energy operated its SilvaGas process on a commercial scale at a demonstration plant in Burlington, Vt., which converted more than 285 tons of wood chips into enough of natural gas substitute to power 6,000 homes. The private company designed and built the plant in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy, which provided technical assistance and funding for facility construction, and the Burlington Electric Department. Future Energy now is working to develop relationships, such as its alliance with WoodFuel.com, that would help it commercialize the process. Privately held WoodFuel.com is a business-to-business, e-commerce company that links buyers and suppliers of raw wood material online. The company aggregates wood fuel from its network of suppliers and delivers the wood as a renewable energy resource. Since its April launch, WoodFuel.com said it has created a total of 283 new accounts and sold 15,845 tons of wood fuel. _______________________________________________________ Clearinghouse puts pieces in place for 2001 12/05/2000 Gas Daily Over-the-counter (OTC) energy clearinghouse EnergyClear moved one step closer to its planned 2001 launch, choosing onExchange's technology platform for EnergyClear's online trading system. OnExchange, which works with electronic exchanges to add risk-management capabilities for their customers, said EnergyClear initially will offer its services to traders in the wholesale gas and power markets. As early as next spring - once the system comes online - it will provide centralized comparison, netting and settlement of OTC energy contracts for trades executed over the phone or through electronic marketplaces, onExchange says. EnergyClear Co-founder and President Lee Burton said the implementation of onExchange technology satisfies a long-standing need in the OTC markets, while providing other benefits as well. "The OTC markets have been seeking the efficiencies of multilateral clearing for some time now and, in conjunction with . . . onExchange, EnergyClear offers the first neutral, independent, unbiased clearing solution," Burton said. OTC energy contracts currently are negotiated between principals, via electronic exchanges or through interdealer brokers over the telephone. Future markets planned for the clearinghouse include petroleum products, crude oil, petrochemicals and bandwidth. With the deal, EnergyClear becomes onExchange's first customer. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. IDC analyst Aaron McPherson suggested a bright future for EnergyClear. "Online forwards and derivatives trading and clearing solutions typically deliver a five- to 10-fold increase in trading volume over underlying cash markets. These solutions will improve the overall efficiency of the energy market, allow energy companies to manage their risk much more effectively and increase liquidity." Houston-based EnergyClear is comprised of EnergyClear Corp. and EnergyClear Operations Co. (EOC). EOC is owned by the Bank of New York, Prebon Yamane and Amerex. CH _________________________________________________ Credit Lyonnais to launch B2B marketplace next year. 12/06/2000 Les Echos P32 (C) Copyright 2000. Credit Lyonnais has announced the launch in spring 2001 of a B2B marketplace, Seliance, in association with Internet incubator Chrysalead, France Telecom and computer services firm Euriware. After a first round of financing Seliance has capital of EUR 12m. The site, in which Credit Lyonnais has a 75% stake, will come into operation in the second quarter of 2001. ___________________________________________ o Report: Softbank Puts European Joint Ventures on Hold NEW YORK -- Softbank has stopped investing through two joint ventures aimed at bringing U.S. technology companies to Europe, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. eVentures U.K., a $50 million fund set up with News Corp.'s epartners, has shut down and its 12 employees have been laid off. Softbank and Vivendi's 500 EUR fund, @visio, which focused on continental Europe, has also stopped making new investments and will concentrate on is portfolio, according to the report. Softbank will continue to make direct early-stage investments in Europe, according to the report. http://www.softbank.com/ _____________________________________________ o Merrill Lynch Launches New Venture Fund For Employees NEW YORK -- Merrill Lynch announced the launch of the Internal Venture Capital Fund, a fund created for Merrill Lynch employees. The new venture will support and fund business plans created by Merrill Lynch employees, specifically in financial services technology. Merrill Lynch will use Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, efinanceworks, and Startup factory for investment strategies and additional support. Merrill Lynch said it plans to invest in the new companies with the possibility of becoming the first client or strategic partner once the product comes to market. The fund expects to provide seed funds to three to four companies by early next year. http://www.ml.com/ ______________________________________________________- o Corporate Wireless Apps Firm Nisus Gets $2 Million Round One WESTBOROUGH, Mass. -- Nisus, a firm that develops wireless applications for businesses, said it has raised $2 million in its first round of financing from undisclosed corporate and individual investors. The firm also announced co-founder Satish Vankayalapati as CEO. Mr. Vankayalapati was formerly a management consultant with McKinsey and an executive and board member of Avantel. The firm additionally announced the names of board members Keith Block, senior vice president of Oracle's North American consulting and global data warehousing businesses; Arthur L. Cherry, Jr., president and CEO of Federated Management Services and a former senior executive at Scudder Investments; and Robert Rudelius, Chairman and CEO of MediaDVX, former President and COO of Control Data Corporation, and former global head of the media and entertainment division of AT&T Solutions. http://www.nisus.com/ _____________________________________________ o Network App Firm Lumeta Raises $250,000 Series A SAN FRANCISCO -- Lumeta, a network management and security application firm, said it has raised $250,000 in a Series A round from meVC Draper Fisher Jurvetson Fund I, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, and Draper Fisher Jurvetson Gotham Ventures of New York City. http://www.lumeta.com/ _____________________________________________ o Wireless Apps Firm InPhonic Has Third Round, Ups Staff by 32 WASHINGTON -- InPhonic, a business-to-business infrastructure firm that focuses on creating branded wireless communities and virtual private label wireless networks, said it has raised an undisclosed amount of third round funding from Riggs Capital Partners, RAF Net Ventures, CMS, and the Mid Atlantic Venture Fund. John Sculley, former CEO of Apple Computer and PepsiCo, also participated in the round. The company confirmed that it has raised in excess of $121 million to date, including this round. The company also said it has added 32 employees in sales, customer support, and the mobile commerce division. http://www.inphonic.com/ _____________________________________________ o B2B App Firm NetVendor Lands Funding from CommerceOne ATLANTA -- NetVendor, which provides business-to-business software for direct materials suppliers, said it formed a strategic alliance with Commerce One, a publicly-traded marketplace for buyers and suppliers. Commerce One invested equity in the company, between $5 million and $10 million, and will be featured as a link in NetVendor's software. NetVendor received $52 million in May from Internet Capital Group, Wheatley Partners, RRE Ventures, CSFB Private Equity, and Bluevector. http://www.netvendor.com/ _____________________________________________
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