the emergence of a new energy industry

With present technology, none of the alternative energy forms can compete with con-

ventional energy on purely economic terms. In the short term, subsidies are being used

to kick-start the alternative energy business. In the longer term, enhancements to the

present technology and completely new ideas are required to bring alternative energy

costs in line with other forms of energy.

Producing energy on a more sustainable basis is a vital part of the solution. Perhaps

even more importantly will be the more effective use of energy. Virtually every device

on the planet that uses energy was developed in an era when energy was so cheap

that efficiency was almost meaningless. Over time, nearly all of the devices that we

use will be redesigned to become more energy-efficient.

Many people are concerned that the evolution to sustainable energy production and

more energy-efficient products will create a drag on economic growth. Those with

vision will appreciate that this situation represents an opportunity for extraordinary

economic stimulus.

Saving energy saves money. Corporate executives and consumers alike will appreciate

that they can generate substantial returns on investment with products that are more

energy efficient. Those returns will escalate rapidly as energy prices rise and efficien-

cies improve.

V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 2

S P E C I A L P O I N T S O F I N T E R E S T :

• Briefly highlight your point of interest here.




...Profiting From Innovations in Green Technology

The Emergence of a New Energy Industry

Extraordinary investment opportunities are emerging as

the world evolves to new ways to produce and use energy

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

G R E E N T E C H E D I T O R I A L

1

S O L A R E N E R G Y 3

I N I T I A T I N G C O V E R A G E

9

A L T - E N E R G Y I N T E R V I E W

1 1

C O N F E R E N C E S 1 5

5

6

G reen technology, alternative energy, renewable energy: Whatever label it has, the movement away from carbon-based energy is attracting massive atten-tion in the popular media... and among investors.

The following is a brief recap of the key points in that issue. (The full issue is available at www.resourceopportunities.com or by contacting us at [email protected].) This issue then describes one of the most promising of the alterna-tive energy forms and introduces a company that is developing vitally important tech-nology in that field.

Subsequent issues of GreenTech Opportunities will provide greater detail on many of the topics touched on in these first two issues, as well as coverage of companies that can be leaders in this new industry.

The energy story of the next decade can be summarized in a few paragraphs.

The population of the world has doubled in the past four decades, and now exceeds 6.5 billion people. In addition, energy consumption per capita has grown by 30% during that time, more than offsetting efforts toward conservation . The net result of the rapidly growing population and the rising energy consumption per capita is that total energy consumption is growing at an alarming pace. The rapid industrialization of Asia and other parts of the developing world is accelerating the growth of energy usage.

In spite of decades of talk about developing alternative energy sources, burning carbon fuels still provides 88% of all the energy used on the planet, only slightly improved from the situation decades ago.

Public opinion and government policy in most of the developed nations has swung sol-idly in favor of alternative energy sources and more effective use of energy. America's new president has already proposed several initiatives that are part of an aggressive program aimed at helping the United States catch up to Europe in this area.

The rapid emergence of the green energy industry represents one of the greatest in-vestment opportunities of a lifetime. While the need for alternatives to carbon fuels is abundantly clear, the solutions are less obvious. For example, advocates of electric cars are simply pushing energy production away from oil to greater use of coal. The dirtiest of the carbon fuels is presently the most-used source for making electricity. Electric cars will not provide a solution until we learn to make electricity in a more environmentally friendly manner.

“The rapid emer-

gence of the green

energy industry

represents one of

the greatest

investment

opportunities of a

lifetime.”

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

May 25, 2009

With present technology, none of the alternative energy forms can compete with conventional energy on purely economic terms. In the short term, subsidies are being used to kick-start the alternative energy business. In the longer term, enhancements to the present technology and completely new ideas are required to bring alternative energy costs in line with other forms of energy.

Producing energy on a more sustainable basis is a vital part of the solution. Perhaps even more importantly will be the more effective use of energy. Virtually every device on the planet that uses energy was developed in an era when energy was so cheap that efficiency was almost meaningless. Over time, nearly all of the devices that we use will be redesigned to become more energy-efficient.

Many people are concerned that the evolution to sustainable energy production and more energy-efficient prod-ucts will create a drag on economic growth. Those with vision will appreciate that this situation represents an op-portunity for extraordinary economic stimulus.

Saving energy saves money. Corporate executives and consumers alike will appreciate that they can generate sub-stantial returns on investment with products that are more energy efficient. Those returns will escalate rapidly as energy prices rise and efficiencies improve.

The movement towards more efficient, non-carbon sources of energy will spawn massive new industries. We will witness the emergence of numerous companies that grow from start-ups to profitable giants:

• Multibillion dollar companies will be created to generate electricity from wind, solar, geothermal, and other sources.

• Large companies will emerge to produce the equipment used in alternative energy production.

• New industries will arise to produce energy-efficient consumer and industrial products and equipment.

• Perhaps the most exciting area will be the small research and development companies that will invent en-hancements to existing technology and discover with new ideas that will drive the industry.

In this issue, we will explore solar energy, one of the most promising of the alternative energy sources. We will also introduce a company that has potential to make an important impact on the solar energy industry.

U.S. Energy Supply Distribution Graph

W W W . G R E E N T E C H - O P P O R T U N I T I E S . C O M

May 25, 2009

Renewables produce a mere 7% of U.S. energy supplies, with more than half of that coming from burning biomass.

Solar energy is one of the most attractive of the alternative energy options: It is clean and once in operation, is practically free. The potential for solar energy is limitless: Enough energy from the sun hits the planet in 40 minutes

to satisfy global energy needs for a full year.

Solar energy has been harnessed for millennia: Passive solar systems heat homes and hot water. Solar cells power calculators and other small electronics. Larger systems power houses and even towns.

Solar is such an obvious energy solution that one might wonder what is holding back its implementation on a global basis. The simple answer is cost. That may seem ridiculous, as solar energy is free for the taking. The challenge lies in the high cost of implementing solar power systems with today’s technology.

A brief overview of solar technology can help to understand why current power systems are uneconomical on a global scale. Readers will also begin to understand the enormous potential in finding ways to effectively harness the power of the sun.

Multiple Ways to Catch a Few Rays

There are several approaches to harnessing the vast energy potential of the sun. Passive solar energy simply cap-tures the warmth in the sun’s rays to warm a building or a swimming pool. Somewhat more sophisticated ap-proaches heat water in pipes with black backgrounds and glass enclosures to more effectively trap the solar en-ergy.

Solar energy can be concentrated with mirrors to produce high enough temperatures to boil water. The steam is then used to power turbine generators to make electricity. Several such applications are in use.

Solar thermal systems work only in areas with abundant direct sunlight. Installing the systems is expensive and a vast amount of real estate is required for large-scale applications. At present, the cost of solar thermal installations is such that they are only practical with subsidies or other forms of incentives. The sidebar has more details on how these systems work and why they will not be a major part of the long term energy picture.

Solar energy can also be converted directly to electricity in a process known as photovoltaics. Anybody with a hand held calculator probably benefits from this simple process. Photovoltaics is the approach that provides the greatest promise in harnessing the sun.

Electricity Directly From The Sun

Once in operation, solar cells deliver electricity nearly for free. While providing great promise, solar cell technology at present is not an economically viable alternative to conventional energy. Even though the energy of the sun is free, the cost of implementing the systems is so high that incentives are required to make them viable. See the sidebar to understand how these devices work and why the costs are so high.

Solar cells are complex, high-tech devices. They are expensive to manufacture and install. And, at present, they convert only about 15% of the sunlight to electricity. With that low efficiency, vast amounts of real estate are re-quired to provide enough coverage to generate meaningful amounts of electricity. As an example, a 550 mega-watt facility planned in California will require 9.5 square miles.

May 25, 2009


S O L A R E N E R G Y

H A R N E S S I N G T H E E N D L E S S P O W E R O F T H E S U N

With the growing impetus for power companies to install renewable energy, solar is the fastest growing of the al-ternative energy forms. The global solar photovoltaic market reached 6,000 megawatts of installed capacity and generated $37 billion of revenues last year. That sounds like a big number, but solar accounts for a mere 0.08% (less than a tenth of one percent) of U.S. energy production. While the figure is slightly higher in some areas, it is around that level globally.

Germany has quickly emerged as a leader in photovoltaics. That may be surprising, in that Germany is hardly the sunniest place in the world, receiving just 1500 hours of direct sunshine a year (equivalent to about 150 ten hour days of direct sun).

The solar industry in Germany arose from a government policy adopted in 2000 that sought to obtain a quarter of the country’s energy needs from renewable sources by 2020. Achieving that goal involves guaranteed minimum prices paid to green energy producers. The higher costs are shared among the power utilities, the government, and consumers through a system known as feed-in tariffs.

While the system involves higher energy prices in the near term, the bold policy has catapulted the country to the forefront of the solar industry, creating tens of thousands of jobs, with the potential for further substantial growth. A side benefit is cleaner air, as the country has been able to reduce the amount of coal it burns to produce electric-ity.

German solar feed-in-tariffs are currently the equivalent of $0.53 per kilo-watt-hour (kWh), declining at 5-10% per annum under a 20 year program. The high assured price provides a reliable revenue stream for suppliers, leading to a great deal of research and development that has spawned an industry.

Ontario, Canada recently proposed similar tariffs up to US$0.64 per kWh,

which would make that Canadian province the most favourable location

worldwide for solar systems (below 100kW). To put those feed-in tariffs

into perspective, the electricity rates are roughly $0.15-0.25 per kWh in

Germany and $0.06-0.13 in Ontario.

While limitless amounts of solar energy are available for the taking, the challenge continues to be installing systems to harness that energy on a cost effective basis. The world-wide economic slowdown has made it even more difficult to pry subsidies from either consumers or governments.

Technology enhancements are within reach that could make solar cell systems compete head-to-head with conven-tional energy. After all, solar systems are virtually free to operate once they are in place. Improvements in capital costs could spark a massive change in the way the world gets its energy.

Solar Technology Is Advancing In Two Directions

Technology advances are aimed at two aspects. One is to find ways to manufacture cells less expensively. The sec-ond is to get more electricity out of the sunlight falling on the solar cells.

Traditional solar cells are comprised of silicon and crystal, which render the photovoltaic cells heavy, fragile and dependent on a supporting frame. Breakthrough technologies using copper, indium, gallium and selenium (CIGS)


May 25, 2009

Solar Valley in Germany

(Image Courtesy of Salon AG)

have allowed cells to become thinner, cheaper and more durable. Those cells are so thin that they can be mounted on flexible materials, like cloth.

One pioneering company, PowerFilm, developed solar-powered field shelters for the U.S. Army. As seen in the photo below, the photovoltaic cells are mounted directly onto the fabric roof of the shelter. Such cells provide ex-ceptional convenience for a remote field operation, but the technology is not applicable to mass production of electricity: efficiencies are in the 6% region and costs are far too high to be competitive with conventional power sources.

Another innovative company, Nanosolar, has developed a proprietary ink system that allows thin-film panels to be manufactured on a machine that is similar to a printing press. Nanosolar's cells have efficiencies as high as 14.6%. The company is selling their product for under a dollar per watt of capacity, at the leading edge of the present cost structure. While important in small applications, that technology has limitations in the context of major power plants.

Getting More Watts Per Cell

The focus of research is shifting to boosting efficiencies. That shift arises because the cost of the solar material is only a portion of the total installed cost of a solar power system. As solar plants increase in scale, the amount of real estate taken up by the solar arrays is becoming enormous, extending to square miles. The most important fac-tor is the total amount of electricity that can be extracted from the system.

Most silicon photovoltaic cells are about 15% efficient. In other words, 85% of the energy that hits a cell is lost due to reflection or ineffective absorption. The sidebar summarizes the research that is underway to improve on the effi-ciencies.

The challenge of increasing the efficiency of solar cells represents perhaps the most important element in the field of alternative energy. A combination of lower costs and higher efficiencies would catapult solar technology to the forefront of alternative energy. Both of those objectives are within reach.


May 25, 2009

PowerFilm's PowerShade™ Solar Field Shelters

A Vital Part Of The Energy Solution

Solar has potential to become an extremely important part of long term energy planning, but on its own cannot provide a comprehensive solution. First, even with energy efficiencies approaching the practical limits of what is possible, the amount of real estate required is enormous – too large to be practical. Secondly, problems like winter, clouds and night time make it necessary to have alternative energy sources.

Solar technology will inevitably take a prominent role in the global energy mix. Investors in this field have the po-tential for huge returns as more companies develop and implement solar technology.

Solar thermal: Generating electricity from the heat of the sun.

Concentrating the sun’s rays with mirrors can produce extremely high temperatures which can be used to produce electricity.

One type of solar thermal system uses u-shaped mirrors that focus sunlight onto a pipe that contains a fluid capable of withstanding extremely high temperatures. The heated fluid is used to boil water, which produces electricity in a conventional steam turbine generator.

The parabolic shape of the trough is designed to maximize the amount of sunlight concentrated onto the pipe as the sun moves through the sky. However, with the sun moving through two dimensions over the course of the day and the year, there is no shape that works for all sun positions. As a result, efficiencies are less than for systems that use flat mirrors that actively track the sun.

Solar power towers use flat mirrors that move on two axes to provide accurate tracking of the sun, maintaining a reflection directly onto the target. A large field of those so-called heliostats follow the sun to focus sunlight onto the collector tower.

It is important to note that only direct sunlight can be reflected. The diffused light of a cloudy day cannot be effectively reflected.

The concentrated energy of several hundred heliostats produces temperatures of 500°C to as much as 1000°C or more. That intense heat is used directly or indirectly to boil water. The resulting steam power drives a turbine to produce electricity.


May 25, 2009

Typical U-Shaped solar Thermal System

Image courtesy of NREL

Photovoltaics: Converting Light to Electricity

Light can be converted directly to electricity in a process called photovoltaics. When light hits the surface of certain materials, electrons are knocked loose from the atoms. When two complementary photo-sensitive semiconductor materials are used together, the freed electrons can be induced to flow from one material to the other, thereby creating an electric current.

In essence, one semiconductor layer has an abundance of unattached electrons and is referred to as the n-Type semiconductor. The other layer has an excess demand for electrons and is designated the p-Type semiconductor.

There are many different materials used in photovoltaics. The most common material is silicon, the same material that forms the basis of virtually all electronic devices (hence “Silicon Valley” as the nickname for the heart of elec-tronic research and development in California). To explain the principal, we will discuss one variation of silicon-based materials.

In pure crystalline silicon, four electrons from each silicon atom bond with adjacent atoms. The n-layer is created by adding phosphorous into the silicon crystal lattice (“doping”). Phosphorous has five available electrons (or “valence” electrons), only four of which become bonded into the crystal. One of the electrons can be induced to move.

The p-layer is created by doping the silicon crystal with boron, which has three valence electrons. The silicon atom is looking to share four atoms, and therefore the boron-doped crystal is able to accept extra electrons.

Sunlight, acting on the surface of the n-layer, frees electrons which flow from the n-layer toward the p-layer. This is exactly the same concept as in a battery, where electrons flow through the electrolyte from one pole to the other. As in the battery, an external circuit allows the flow of electrons to be harnessed as an electric current.


May 25, 2009

Power Tower Image courtesy of NREL

California’s largest power utility, PG&E, recently announced plans for

seven new solar thermal plants that will produce a total of 1,310

megawatts of electricity — enough to power 530,000 California

homes.

Clearly, solar thermal only works in areas with abundant sunny

weather and where there is vast amount of real estate available at

low cost. Installations are expensive, as each of the hundreds of mir-

rors requires sophisticated equipment to track the sun. Aside from the

limitations of converting solar radiation to heat, the systems are re-

stricted by the inherent inefficiencies of the steam turbine and gen-

erator systems.

With those limitations, the economics of solar thermal systems using present technology do not support large scale

development unless there are subsidies or other incentives. It does not appear that there is a great deal of scope to

further improve efficiencies or bring down installation costs.

Solar thermal is a demonstrated technology that provides a near term alternative as power utilities strive to meet

renewable targets imposed by legislation. However, this approach has limitations on its ultimate scope as an energy

“If there is to be any hope that our

children will enjoy the quality of life that

we have now, we must intensify our

efforts to find ways to use less energy.”


May 25, 2009

Silicon is one of the most common elements in the earth’s crust: it is the prevalent element in most rocks. Window glass is silicon dioxide.

While abundant, silicon for use in electronics and photovoltaic cells is expensive, as it must be of a high purity. Very thin layers of silicon material must be created, with regular crystal structures.

Doping to create the n-layer and the p-layer is com-plex, as the doping material must be injected into the crystal lattice without upsetting the structure. The most common method of doping at present is to coat a layer of silicon material with the doping material and then heat the surface and maintain a

high temperature while the doping atoms work into the crystal lattice. The high temperature required in the heat-doping process imposes limits to the materials that can be used and to how thin the layers can be made. Research is underway to develop processes that can create ultra-thin layers with suitable doping without the need for high temperatures.

Concentrating photovoltaic systems use mirrors to direct additional sunlight onto the photovoltaic surfaces, thereby increasing power generation. That approach works only with direct sunlight, as the diffused light coming through clouds cannot be concentrated. Further, to be effective, the mirrors require tracking mechanisms to follow the sun.

The effectiveness of concentrating photovoltaic systems is therefore limited to areas with abundant direct light and the cost involved in installing the mirrors and the tracking mecha-nisms offsets much of the gains in efficiency. With the cost of photovoltaic cells coming down, it is becoming more effective to simply install photocells in place of the concentrat-ing mirrors.

Research now is directed to increasing the amount of electricity produced from the light reaching the solar cells. One of the limits to efficiency in a photo cell is that a particular semiconductor material reacts only to a limited range of light color, or wavelength. That is, a high proportion of a particular color range can be converted, but the other colors do not impact the solar cell.

A broader range of wavelengths can be captured with tandem cells. Those cells utilize multiple n-layer/p-layer pairs, with each pair tuned to a different color range. However, the multi-layer approach works only to the extent that light can pass through the upper layers to reach the lower levels.

Transparency of the layers is accomplished by using ultra-thin layers: The top layer is able to extract energy from the light, with the unused wavelengths passing through to the lower levels. Tandem cells are in use, confirming the applicability of the concept. The challenge is that with present technology, obtaining suitably thin layers of appro-priate quality is prohibitively expensive for large scale applications. NASA has done a great deal of work with tan-dem cells, as their high efficiency makes them useful for high-performance applications such as satellites.

With their high efficiencies, tandem cells represent perhaps the most important avenue of development for the

solar industry. Advances that move tandem cells closer to commercial reality will represent major milestones in the

development of the solar industry.

“Research now is

directed to

increasing the

amount of electricity

produced from the

light reaching the

solar cells.”

Makeup of a simple solar cell

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/solar_cell_materials.html

Natcore Technology Inc.

(NXT.TSXV)

Natcore is a start-up company with a leading-edge scientific team and a breakthrough technology that has ex-tremely important implications for the solar power industry.

The scientists and the high-profile university that were involved in the development of the technology have turned their rights over to Natcore in return for a royalty and ownership in the company. Natcore, which began trading as a public company just last week, is now committed to commercializing its proprietary technology.

The Natcore process involves a revolutionary new way to create precise, high purity ultra-thin films. There are end-less potential applications for the technology in the high tech world. The rapid emergence of the solar power indus-try and the need for technology enhancements in that field led the Natcore team to focus initially on solar cells.

Results of independent laboratory testing indicate that the Natcore technology can be used to produce solar cells with substantially higher efficiencies and that it can produce those cells for much lower costs than present technologies. A great deal more work is required to take the technology from the laboratory to commercial implementation, but the potential payoff is enormous.

The projected improved efficiencies for solar cells, combined with the projected lower pro-duction costs, would bring the cost of generating solar power to a level where it would be competitive with conventional electricity costs.

For a company with such a miniscule market value to have a technology with such enor-mous potential falls into the category of “sounds too good to be true”. A close look at the background and the people involved will demonstrate that this opportunity is very real.

The technology was developed at Rice University in Houston, Texas, one of America's top research universities. The work was conducted under the direction of Professor Andrew Barron, the Chair of Chemistry and a Professor of Materials Science at Rice. He has now taken on the added role of Natcore’s head of technology and commercialization. Professor Barron has published hundreds of peer-reviewed scientific papers and was the first faculty member hired for the Smalley Institute for Nanotechnology, the first such institute in the world. Professor Barron has had prior experience working with a start-up company: He was associated with Gallia Inc, which was sold to TriQuint, a manufacturer of electronic devices. Barron is one of the founders of Natcore.

Cofounder Dr. Dennis Flood is Natcore’s Head of Research and Development. Dr. Flood is the former Chief of the Photovoltaic and Space Environments Branch at NASA’s Glenn Research Center. He spent decades at the leading edge of photovoltaics, as solar cells power virtually all satellites and other space-related devices. Dr. Flood is also head of a consulting firm providing management and technical services to the photovoltaic industry. He serves on the International Advisory Committees of the European, the US, the Japan/Asia and the World Photovoltaic Confer-ence organizing committees. He will be devoting the majority of his working time to Natcore in order to participate in the commercialization of the company’s technology.

Charles Provini, President and CEO, holds a Masters of Engineering and has extensive experience in the finance in-


May 25, 2009

I N I T I A T I N G C O V E R A G E

“...testing indicate

that the Natcore

technology can be

used to produce

solar cells with sub-

stantially higher

efficiencies and that

it can produce those

cells for much lower

costs than present

technologies.”

dustry. He was President of Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management, affiliated with one of the oldest members of the New York Stock Exchange.

Brien Lundin, a director of Natcore, is a well-known investor and investment banker with considerable experience in financing and advising early-stage technology and natural resource enterprises. He is the operator of the re-nowned New Orleans Investment Conference and has extensive contacts in the investing community. He is orga-nizing a Green Technology Conference in San Diego in October. Mr. Lundin recognized the potential of the Rice Uni-versity technology in the solar industry and was the catalyst for setting up Natcore and directing it through the process of going public.

Natcore’s technology is exclusively licensed from Rice, which is well advanced toward securing international patent protection. Natcore began working with Rice in 2004 under an agreement that grants an exclusive license to Nat-core worldwide to commercialize and to continue to develop the technology. Rice received 555,556 Natcore shares, representing 10% of outstanding capital at the time of the deal. Rice will also receive a royalty from direct sales and sublicenses of the technology.

The Natcore process enables silicon materials, the basis for solar cells and a wide range of other electronic devices, to be deposited directly onto mediums from an aqueous solution at ambient temperature and pressure. Present technologies require deposition of the thin layers under carefully controlled conditions of temperature and pressure and then treat-ment under high temperatures. The Natcore approach would greatly reduce the manufac-turing costs compared to present methods. Even more importantly, the process can pro-vide substantial improvements in the composition of the layers and enable enhancements in solar technology, which could form the basis for big improvements in efficiencies.

The Natcore technology is a nanotechnology-driven liquid-phase deposition process. It has a broad range of potential applications for thin and thick film growth. The process has been successfully demonstrated by the highly regarded Battelle Memorial Institute, an independ-ent applied science and technology development group based in Columbus, Ohio.

The first product to be brought to market will be a low cost anti-reflective coating for the silicon solar cell manufacturing industry. Natcore plans to sell materials, deposition systems and licenses based on its technology to manufacturers of silicon solar cells. Those manufac-turers could use the Natcore procedure in their existing manufacturing facilities, making it easy to transition to the new process.

The company is continuing research and development on its major project, the tandem photovoltaic cell. The ability to produce ultra-thin films of high quality at low cost has given Natcore a big lead in tandem cells, which offer a huge advantage in terms of efficiency.

For those with an interest in technology: A basic photo cell has a single n-layer/p-layer pair that is capable of captur-ing only a limited range of wave lengths. The tandem cell employs multiple n-layer/p-layer pairs. The upper pair would react to blue light, with other wave lengths passing through to a second and even a third layer. The tandem cell approach can obtain more than twice the energy from the sunlight it receives compared to a basic cell of the same surface area.

For a tandem cell to work, the layers must be sufficiently thin to be nearly transparent to the light passing to the lower layers. With present technologies, the cost of producing tandem cells is prohibitively expensive, except for


May 25, 2009

“Mr. Lundin recognized the potential of the Rice University technology in the solar industry and was the catalyst for setting up Natcore and directing it through the process of going public.”

use in high performance applications such as satellites.

Natcore’s paradigm shifting technology will enable companies to produce silicon cells at less than half the thick-ness of cells on the market today. That would allow for the low-cost mass manufacturing of tandem solar cells with over 30% efficiency, which is roughly double the output of a basic cell. Further research is planned that could fur-ther boost the efficiency.

Chuck Provini, Natcore’s President, commented: “When combined, these cost efficiencies promise to make solar energy economically competitive with conventional power generation”.

Natcore raised C$1.7 million in its recent initial public offering, less than the C$3.0 million maximum, reflecting the present unfavourable market for risky investments. More money will be required to complete the research and de-velopment program, but that money should be readily available as market sentiment improves and as the Natcore story is better known.

I expect that the Natcore shares will initially trade near the C$0.40 level at which the vend-in and the initial public offering were priced. That will provide an opportunity to accumulate a position.

Natcore has enormous upside potential, but, as with any technology start-up, investors must recognize that this is a highly speculative investment. At the present share price, the company has a miniscule value, considering the extraordinary scientific team and a technol-ogy that has already been demonstrated. Recognition of that value should lead to a sub-stantial boost in value in the near term. Beyond that, the upside is dependent on success in the commercialization of its projects and on continued scientific advances. Considering the huge upside if the company comes anywhere near to realizing the potential value of its technology, Natcore offers a good balance of risk and potential reward.

Price May 25, 2009: C$0.36

Shares Outstanding: 21.3 million

Fully Diluted: 28.9 million

Market Cap: C$7.6 million

Contact: Investor Relations

877-700-NATCORE

www.natcorsolar.com

Lawrence was recently interviewed by the organizers of the Las Vegas Money Show in connection with his presen-tations at that event in early May. Following is that part of the interview relating to alternative energy.

Money Show: Thank you for joining me, Lawrence. You recently launched a new newsletter, GreenTech Opportuni-ties, in which you plan to focus on alternative energy. A couple of years ago, alternative energy investments were the rage, with scores of ethanol and solar companies scoring huge momentum rallies, only to be left out in the cold a few months later. Will you tell our readers why this time around might be better for alternative energy invest-ments?


May 25, 2009

“When combined, these cost efficiencies promise to make solar energy economically competitive with conventional power generation”.

L A W R E N C E R O U L S T O N I N T E R V I E W :

A N O V E R V I E W O F A L T E R N A T I V E E N E R G Y

Roulston: The biggest problem for most investors is that they often don’t hear about a particular investment sector until it gets into the popular media. By then, the good companies are trading at high prices. That’s when the “me-too” companies pop up. Many of those companies fade away, along with the media hype.

Beyond the hype, there are real companies that generate real returns for investors. For example, First Solar went public late in 2006 at $20, and traded up to $300 last year. The world-wide market crash brought it down and it is now around $130. Even after the crash, that’s a nice return for the early investors.

Unfortunately, this time will be exactly the same as before. There will be countless companies that jump into the alternative energy arena. Their share prices will be pushed higher by the intense media attention that this sector will receive. Investors that get in early on a momentum play can do well. But the real gains will go to the companies that achieve real results. Our objective with GreenTech Opportunities is to help investors to identify which compa-nies have the best prospects of achieving real progress that will build shareholder value.

Money Show: Many other countries are much further along in green energy development than the US. Do you have any favorite global alternative energy stocks that our readers should know about?

Roulston: You’re right; other parts of the world are years ahead of the U.S. President Obama has outlined an ag-gressive campaign aimed at helping the U.S. to catch up to other areas. There are several companies in Europe that are well established in alternative energy that have suffered big drops in share price. We are now evaluating those companies to investigate the prospects for near term recovery.

Money Show: Which sectors do you believe have the most potential for investors? And why?

Roulston: Most of the investment dollars will go into energy production companies, whether wind, geothermal, solar, small hydro or other forms of energy. The production companies at present rely on incentives paid for green energy to offset the higher costs. On the basis of the incentives, the production companies can be expected to generate utility company-type returns, which will be very appealing to many investors, especially after what we’ve been through in the past year.

All of the alternative energy forms need technology enhancements to make them competitive with traditional en-ergy sources. We are targeting companies that are working on enabling technologies that are applicable to green energy production AND also looking at innovations in energy conservation. So much of the focus is on energy pro-duction. It’s actually far more cost effective to conserve energy than to produce more. There are some very inter-esting conservation technologies that are emerging.

The research and development area pushes an investor way out on the risk/reward scale. For anybody who can stand the risk, the reward potential of research and development companies is very exciting.

Money Show: Are there any particular companies that have caught your attention?

Roulston: We are looking closely at numerous companies. Some are private, some trade on the exchanges. Over the next few weeks, we expect to complete due diligence and start publishing on specific companies. There are some truly extraordinary opportunities.

Money Show: The peak oil debate continues, with estimates ranging from this year to more than a dozen years out. Please explain the major consequences of this event and what type of investment opportunities may arise as we journey toward that as-yet-unknown date.

Roulston: It’s unfortunate that something as basic as this turns into an emotional debate.

For decades, oil production has steadily increased. New oil discoveries are made every year, and geologists will con-tinue to make new discoveries for decades to come. But, production from existing oil fields is steadily declining. A great deal of the new production brought on stream each year merely replaces production declines. After decades of intense exploration efforts, the pace of new discoveries has fallen sharply. With fewer new discoveries, it be-


May 25, 2009

comes more difficult to bring on new production fast enough to offset production declines and continue to in-crease production.

Alarmists paint a picture of a peak, followed by a sharp decline. A more likely scenario is a long plateau. Massive investments in new production will see the current level of oil output maintained for many years, but production will no longer be rising.

The concern comes in the fact that the population of the earth continues to grow and energy consumption per cap-ita continues to grow. For decades, the oil industry has been able to expand production quickly enough to match the growth in demand. In the very near future, for the first time, output will not expand at the same pace as de-mand. With a shortfall in supply, the oil price will once more rise, as it did last year, but next time the gain will be long term.

Money Show: The tremendous growth in emerging markets over the last decade created incredible demand on en-ergy. And although China’s growth projections for 2009 have been reduced, to about 6%, that is still a healthy num-ber. What specific investment opportunities do you see from the resurgence of markets in China, as well as other emerging market countries?

Roulston: Not everybody realizes that China is now the third biggest economy in the world, and even at a “slow” rate of growth, it’s expanding at 6% a year. In fact recent forecasts have bumped the forecast for this year to 8%.

The average person in China uses about 6% of the amount of energy of the average American. The average Indian uses even less. There are more than 3 billion people in the developing world who are increasing their energy usage.

It is physically impossible with existing technology for everyone in the world to come anywhere close to the Ameri-can energy usage level. But, the world is moving in that direction.

One can summarize the energy story quite simply: The population of the world is growing rapidly. The average en-ergy consumption for the majority of the inhabitants of Planet Earth is increasing steadily. While demand for en-ergy will inevitably continue to grow, the biggest supply of energy, crude oil, is facing a limit to growth within the not too distant future. It is clear that we need to enhance our efforts to develop alternative sources of energy AND to find ways to use energy more efficiently.

The best play on growth in emerging markets is commodities and in particular, on companies involved in producing and finding commodities. Personally, I see the development of alternative energy technology and resources as the best ways to benefit from continued growth in China.

Obama unveils new vehicle standards

President Obama has unveiled new vehicle standards that will increase fuel efficiencies by 30% by 2016. In effect, the announcement moves the target date from 2020 to 2016. While a 30% gain seems like a lot, it is less than 5% a year.

The targets will be applied across the fleets of vehicles sold by each auto maker. Cars will be required to average 39 miles per gallon, with light trucks reaching 30 miles per gallon, for a combined average of 35.5 miles per gallon. The new standards will lead to further innovation in operational efficiencies and in ways to reduce weight.

The program is expected to cost consumers an additional $1,300 per vehicle; however, it is estimated that drivers would save $2,800 in fuel costs over the lifetime of a car.


May 25, 2009

G R E E N F L A S H :

N O T E S O N G R E E N T E C H N O L O G Y N E W S

Plastic Solar Cells

Scientists at the University of California and a company called Konarka have managed to reach efficiencies of 6.4% with inexpensive plastic solar cells. Cheap, lightweight, flexible: Plastic solar cells could be used in a big array of consumer products such as powering a television while car-camping.

Plug-in Hybrids

The first plug-in hybrid to be sold in the United States will be out in No-vember at a hefty price tag of $87,000. This visually appealing vehicle (see right) can be driven for 50 miles solely on battery power. After that, the gasoline engine kicks in to recharge the battery, which extends the range by 250 miles. The Karma can reach 60 mph in 5.8 seconds and can achieve 35 to 40 miles per gallon when the battery and generator are used together. Toyota, GM and Chrysler are all set to release plug-in hy-brids in the next few years.

Australia to build world’s largest solar plant

Australia’s Prime Minister announced that his country plans to build a 1GW solar plant at an estimated cost of USD$1.05 billion. The plant will be three times bigger than the current largest solar plant, which is located in Califor-nia. Prime Minister Rudd said, "We don't want to be clean energy followers worldwide, we want to be clean en-ergy leaders worldwide." He plans to exploit “Australia's biggest natural resource." The project will involve four solar installations, two from the solar photovoltaics and two based on solar thermal technologies. The govern-ment plans to subsidize one third of the projects installation costs as the country strives to derive 20 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020.

Walmart’s Solar Commitment

Walmart expanded its commitment to solar energy last month. The retailing giant announced it will install an addi-tional 10 to 20 solar installations onto its Californian stores within the next 18 months – on top of the 18 it has al-ready installed. When completed, the combined installations will generate up to 32 million kilowatt hours – the equivalent of powering 2,600 homes. The solar power will provide 20-30% of each store’s electricity needs.

Toyota Prius

The revamped 2010 Toyota Prius hybrid was released this week. This highly efficient vehicle has a mileage rating of 50 miles per gallon. Not only can this fuel sipping car parallel park itself, but it has an optional solar roof panel.

Smart Buildings

President Obama is targeting energy hungry buildings in his new stimulus package. Seventy percent of energy used in the United States is consumed by buildings and Obama is eager to support the refitting of existing buildings and the development of new developments with energy efficient technologies.


May 25, 2009

IBM, which is actively involved in greening it’s buildings has said that "Smart buildings can reduce energy consump-tion 30% to 50%, on average. Achieving just a 15% reduction in energy consumption in buildings worldwide could re-sult in $295 billion in energy savings annually."

Sea levels are rising twice as fast as had been thought

At a scientific conference on climate change held this week in Copenhagen, four environmental experts announced

that sea levels appear to be rising almost twice as rapidly as had been forecast by the United Nations just two years

ago. Both the Greenland and the Antarctic ice caps have been melting at an accelerating rate. It is this melting ice

that is raising sea levels much faster than had been expected.

Greentech Investment Conference

San Diego, California

October 17-18, 2009

Despite the tremendous interest in alternative energy among individual investors, there are no major investment conferences

bringing these opportunities to this huge market. GreenTech 2009 will be the preeminent opportunity for investors to learn

more about alternative energy and cleantech companies, and how investments in this sector can pave the way to a greener

world. Dozens of today's top scientists, analysts and professionals in solar, wind, geothermal, nuclear, smart grid, transporta-

tion, biofuels, energy storage, nanotech and every aspect of greentech will make dynamic presentations during this two day

event.


May 25, 2009

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May 25, 2009

the emergence of a new energy industry

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