Alternative Energy/IP Profile of Biggest for-profit companies in AE

Answer the questions:

1. What are the 10 biggest for-profit companies in this field?
   • How is the market distributed?
   • Where are they located? Are there any incentives for specific locations?
   • Correlate them with their main outputs (Data. Narratives. Tools)
   • Understand and identify cases where these companies are “experimenting” or “adopting” commons-based approaches
   • Identify these cases and treat them as entities that will also be placed in our mapping*device (the quadrants)
   • Identify what companies are the “Microsofts” of the field and what companies are the “IBMs” of the field

Background for Questions:

Alternative Energy Market Information

Title: Clean Tech LLC (San Francisco, CA)

• Home page: http://cleantech.com
• Clean Tech Stock Index (76 companies, a good list of industry leaders): http://cleantech.com/index/index.cfm
• Google Finance: http://www.google.com/finance?q=++CLEANTECH+INDEX

Wind

Market Information

• Wind Power in the United States - 10 Companies to Watch
  
  • http://www.green-technology-investor.com/Wind-Power/US-Stocks-1-08.html
    

• America Wind Energy Association
  
  • Annual US Wind Power Rankings Track Industry’s Rapid Growth (2007)
    
  • http://www.awea.org/newsroom/releases/Annual_US_Wind_Power_Rankings_041107.html
    

• Wind Farm Development
  
  • http://www.ecobusinesslinks.com/wind_farm_development.htm
    

Solar

Market Information

• Solar Energy's Sunny Side: The credit crunch is putting the breaks on the plans of many solar companies. The survivors will be those with disruptive technologies.
  
  • http://www.forbes.com/2008/11/24/solar-innovation-disruption_leadership_clayton_in_js_1125claytonchristensen_inl.html

Leading Companies

SunPower

• Home page: http://www.sunpowercorp.com/
• Google Finance: http://www.google.com/finance?client=ob&q=NASDAQ:SPWRB
• 10K annual report: http://investors.sunpowercorp.com/secfiling.cfm?filingID=867773-09-11

designs, manufactures and markets high-performance solar electric power technologies 15 years of research and development
solar cells and solar panels are manufactured using proprietary processes
IP Strategy:
"We rely on a combination of patent, copyright, trade secret, trademark and contractual protections to establish and protect our proprietary rights.‚" Form 10-K Annual Report 2008
"Although we apply for patents to protect our technology, our revenue is not dependent on any particular patent we own.‚"

First Solar (Tempe, AZ)

• Home page: http://www.firstsolar.com/
• Google Finance: http://www.google.com/finance?q=FSLR
• 10K Annual Report: http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1274494/000095013409003635/p14089e10vk.htm
• News: First Solar's Cautious Tone Weighs Down Solar Sector http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20090225-714525.html?mod=rss_Hot_Stocks

"We design and manufacture solar modules using a proprietary thin film semiconductor technology‚" 2009 10K proprietary production process
"We rely primarily on a combination of patents, trademarks and trade secrets, as well as employee and third party confidentiality agreements, to safeguard our intellectual property.‚" 2009 10K

• US Patents
  • 23 patents
  • 37 patent applications pending
• Foreign Patents
  • 17 patents
  • 70 patent applications pending

SunTech

• Home Page: http://www.suntech-power.com/
• Google Finance: http://www.google.com/finance?client=ob&q=NYSE:STP
• Form 20F http://library.corporate-ir.net/library/19/192/192654/items/287738/SuntechPowerHol20F.pdf

Evergreen Solar

• Home page: http://www.evergreensolar.com/
• Google Finance: http://www.google.com/finance?client=ob&q=NASDAQ:ESLR
• 10K annual report: http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/947397/000095013508001256/b68105ese10vk.htm

"Develop, manufacture and market solar panels utilizing our proprietary String Ribbontm technology‚"

• Patents
  • 22 U.S. patents,
  • 7 Indian
  • 6 European
• Pending Patents
  • 20 U.S. patent applications
  • 26 foreign patent applications

Applied Materials

• Google Finance: http://www.google.com/finance?q=AMAT
• SunFab: http://www.appliedmaterials.com/products/solar_sunfab_3.html
• Solar Strategy: http://www.appliedmaterials.com/news/solar_strategy.html