Obama Touts ARC Energy Which Could Help Slash LED Lighting Costs

Posted by Tate Dwinnell | # |
12:00:44 pm on February 3, 2010

At a recent rally in New Hampshire, Barack Obama specifically mentioned LED lighting and described a company that could help to slash the cost of LED lighting.  I did a little research and discovered the company he was referring to is privately held Arc Energy LLC of Nashua, NH.  Its founder, Kedar Gupta is no stranger to cleantech success, having founded GT Solar (SOLR) with just $1000 and cashing out a few years ago.

Here’s the portion of the speech highlighting Arc Energy

“That is why jobs will be our number one focus in 2010. And we’re going to start where most new jobs do – with small businesses. These are the companies that begin in basements and garages when an entrepreneur takes a chance on his dream, or a worker decides it’s time she became her own boss. They’re companies like ARC Energy, which I visited earlier today. These folks are hard at work on a new manufacturing process for ultra-efficient LED lights that will make them affordable for ordinary people. The technology they’ve created is the only of its kind in the world. They’re this little business in a condo out on Amherst Street, and they have the potential to revolutionize an industry. Right here in Nashua.

Small businesses like ARC Energy have created roughly 65 percent of all new jobs over the past decade and a half. And I think we should make it easier for them to open their doors, expand their operations, and hire more workers. That’s why I’ve proposed a new tax credit for more than one million small businesses that hire new workers or raise wages – and a tax incentive for all businesses to invest in new plants and equipment. And while we’re at it, we should eliminate all capital gains taxes on small business investment, so these folks can get the capital they need to grow and create jobs.”

I had to do some digging to locate ARC Energy’s web site and eventually had to call them to find it.  Considering both the products and news pages say “we are in stealth mode”, it’s clear the company wants to operate under the radar for now.. but the visit by Obama has certainly put them on the map now!

According to the about page, ARC Energy LLC (or Advanced Renewable Energy Company) was founded in 2007 to develop automated sapphire crystal growth and processing equipment to significantly reduce the cost to manufacture LED lighting.  The company was initially funded by its founder Kedar Gupta, but is now receiving funding from venture capital firm General Catalyst and Citizens Bank.

While GreenStocksCentral.com focuses on publicly traded green companies, it will be interesting to follow the progression of ARC Energy and perhaps one day I’ll be writing about their IPO.

10 Tech Trends for 2010: #8 LED Lighting (CREE)

While the demand expansion for LED lighting is probably the worst kept secret in the tech investing world today, for some reason it was being virtually ignored at the start of 2009. Of course, for long- term Next Inning readers, that was good news – it allowed us to buy shares of sector leader Cree (CREE) in the mid-teens before the rest of the world caught on.

When it comes to the lighting markets, it’s important to understand the divisions. The market where I think Cree is and will remain the leader is what is called “high power.”

Revenue growth for LED Lamps was, to say the least, uninspiring for nearly a dozen years leading up to 2002. However, beginning in 2002, mobile products began to incorporate larger displays and, with these, the demand for LED backlighting grew quickly. These tiny LEDs were not Cree’s strongest suit, but the company enjoyed some modest benefits.

From there, the next leg up started in 2007 and was driven by high brightness applications like scoreboards and other outdoor displays. Cree competed well in those markets as it has more recently in the LED backlight market for LCD TVs (those TV’s advertised as LED are really LCD with LED backlight versus CCFL backlight).

However, the real story for Cree is what is known as the “high power” market, which includes ambient and task lighting applications that are currently dominated by various types of incandescent and fluorescent lights. High power LEDs are rapidly gaining ground here, but it will take literally years for them to get beyond a rounding error in the scope of the aggregate market. In these markets there are only three viable competitors and Cree is the clear leader.

You can find a number of good reports on Cree on the Next Inning site by using our search engine to look for the ticker symbol Cree. The short story here is that while we are only beginning to scratch the surface for LED demand, investors with an interest in Cree should be patient and accumulate carefully on weakness.

In a new special report entitled 10 Tech Trends for 2010, NextInning.com highlights ten technology trends that investors will need to know about this year, as well gives opinions on several key tech stocks, including ones that are its favorites for the new year.

For access to the free report, examining each pick’s business activities, strengths, weaknesses, latest earnings report, and much more, visit NextInning.com.

http://www.tickerspy.com/newswire/?p=1359

January Section Meeting

LED Expo

NOTE VENUE CHANGE!!!

We are preparing for our biggest expo yet! So big, we are moving to the PPA Event Center by Mile High Stadium! Join us as more than two dozen manufacturers are represented in our tradeshow-style format. We start the evening with a presentation on LED technology by Jim Anderson, Director of Strategic Markeing for Philips Solid State Lighting Solutions. Jim will cover the potential of SSL, current and emerging applications, initiatives encouraging SSL, technical considerations when choosing an LED system, and a standards update on the technology! With over 20 years of experience in the lighting industry, both at Philips Lighting and LED start-up companies, Jim Anderson is currently the Director of Strategic Marketing for Philips Solid Sate Lighting Solutions (formerly Color Kinetics) in Burlington, MA. Over his career, Jim has held various positions in technology management, operations management and Marketing, and changed his focus to LED lighting 5 years ago.

A Year-Round New Ball For Times Square

Dec 28, 2009 9:45 AM, By Marian Sandberg

Times Square Alliance and Countdown Entertainment, the co-organizers of New Year's Eve in Times Square unveiled a new Times Square New Year's Eve Ball at a press conference last month at Hudson Scenic Studio in Yonkers, New York.

The 12' geodesic sphere is twice the size of the previous versions and weighs a whopping 11,875lbs. The ball is covered in 2,668 Waterford Crystal triangles, ranging size from 4¾" to 5¾" per side, bolted to and powered by 672 LED modules attached to the aluminum frame and comprising 32,256 Philips Lumileds Luxeon Rebel RGB plus white LEDs. The result is an output of a palette of more than 16 million colors and billions of patterns for a kaleidoscope effect when it drops Thursday night from atop One Times Square.

While this year's Ball represents more than three times the number of LEDs used last year, it is actually 10-20% more energy efficient, consuming only the same amount of energy per hour as it would take to operate two traditional home ovens. Two-hundred eighty-eight of the Waterford Crystal triangles are emblazoned with the new Let There Be Courage design of a ribbon medal defining the triumph of courage over adversity; 1,440 crystal triangles feature last year's Let There Be Joy design of an angel with arms uplifted welcoming the New Year. The remaining 960 triangles are the original Let There Be Light design of a stylized radiating sunburst.

Focus Lighting created a unique lighting design for the ball that requires more than 3,500 lighting cues to orchestrate the moving patterns, making the sparkle visible whether viewed from 5' away or 500' from the streets. "We tried to create a beacon of light in the sky over Times Square," says Paul Gregory, principal lighting designer for Focus Lighting.   

Philips Lighting engineer Oscar Zheng assists a Landmark Signs technician in upgrading the Times Square Ball Numerals with new Philips LED flood bulbs.

Lighting Science Group designed, developed, and produced the lighting system for the new ball to seamlessly integrate the Waterford Crystal with the Philips Luxeon Rebel LEDs. Hudson Scenic Studio designed, developed, and produced the structural framework, including the hoisting system for raising and lowering the ball on the new 141' mast. E:Cue Lighting Control provided the lighting control system, and Lapp Group provided the power and control cabling for the Ball.

This is only the seventh version of a new ball in 101 years, the first made of iron and wood, weighing 700lbs, and covered with 100 light bulbs. This new version will become a year-round attraction above Times Square in full public view January through December. "For one hundred years, the Times Square New Year's Eve Ball has attracted millions of revelers to Times Square on December 31 to celebrate the beginning of the New Year" says Jeff Straus, president of Countdown Entertainment and co-organizer of Times Square New Year's Eve. "The new Times Square New Year's Eve Ball will be a bright sparkling jewel atop One Times Square entertaining New Yorkers and tourists from around the world not only on December 31, but throughout the year."

Also new this year, Philips has converted the companion Times Square Ball Numerals (2-0-1-0) to all-LED technology. The 545 custom-designed Philips scalloped LED flood bulbs lighting the Times Square Ball Numerals use just 9W each, compared to the 40W consumed by the incandescent and halogen bulbs previously used, representing a 78% energy savings.

"Following our landmark upgrade of the Times Square Ball to LED technology over the past two years, we are very excited to deliver yet another innovative LED solution that helps to elevate the impact and sustainability of the Times Square Ball through the use of our powerful new LED flood bulbs in the Numerals," said Ed Crawford, CEO, Philips Lighting North America. "Global icons like the Times Square Ball are not the only applications that can enjoy the benefits of LED technology. In addition to offering a wide range of professional LED solutions, we are delighted to offer a broad line of LED retrofit bulbs to consumers for the first time, enabling everyone to enhance their life with light through high performance, energy efficient and long life LED lighting."

for more info http://livedesignonline.com/architainment/1228-year-round-times-square-ball/