Green Investors Profile: Utilities Companies

Many utilities companies are also important strategic investors for cleantech, smartgrid, energy efficiency and energy management technologies; as well as renewable energy companies, for example, some utilities companies have taken strategic shareholding in geothermal energy companies, clean coal providers, also solar farms, wind farms and biofuel.

In this post, we would like to share some companies profile with other members, and hope you find them useful.

RWE AG

RWE AG is engaged in the business of generation, trading, transmission and supply of electricity and gas. The Company operates through seven divisions. Germany, Netherlands/Belgium, United Kingdom, Central and Eastern Europe, Renewables, Upstream gas and oil, and Trading/gas midstream. The Company acquired the Dutch energy utility Essent N.V. as of September 30, 2009.

The Company’s Germany division consists of the Generation and Sales and distribution networks business areas. It also includes the German regional utilities, which operate their own electricity generation facilities to a small extent, besides handling the network and end-customer business. The United Kingdom business division encompasses its entire United Kingdom generation and supply business with the exception of electricity production from renewable; it is an active investor especially in solar and wind energy projects.

China Yangtze Power Co, Ltd (CHINA)

China Yangtze Power Co., Ltd. is principally engaged in electric power generation and supply. The Company operates hydropower plants. It operates its businesses through electric power generation, operation and investment; electric generation technology consulting, as well as monitoring and maintenance of hydropower engineering.

During the year ended December 31, 2009, the Company generated approximately 51.37 billion kilowatt hours of electric power. The Company had six subsidiaries and six affiliates, which involved in technology, industrial and security investment, property management, equipment leasing, engineering consulting, financial services, electric and heat power generation, as well as nonferrous metal smelting.

Like other Chinese utilities companies, they are active in investing in green technologies but also seeking resources globally such as coal.

Covanta Holdings (USA)

Covanta Holding Corporation (Covanta) is a developer, owner and operator of infrastructure for the conversion of waste to energy (known as energy-from-waste), as well as other waste disposal and renewable energy production businesses in the Americas, Europe and Asia. The Company conducts all of its operations through subsidiaries, which are engaged predominantly in the businesses of waste and energy services. Covanta is also engaged in the independent power production business outside the Americas. It has investments in subsidiaries engaged in insurance operations in California, primarily in property and casualty insurance.

The Company operates in two segments: Americas and International. The Americas segment is comprised of waste and energy services operations primarily in the United States and Canada. The International segment is comprised of waste and energy services operations in other countries, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, China, The Philippines, India, and Bangladesh.
This is an interesting company, as we have also researched into other waste-energy conversion companies; many have taken either minority or strategic investments into new cleantech technologies as a strategy to stay competitive and diversify into new products.

Looking for investment sources and ideas? Check out our Global Green Investors Guide and Global Utilities Companies Guide on http://researchwhitepaper.com