Some are expecting the cleantech graveyard of startups to start filling up, particularly in the second quarter of 2012. But how companies wind down, sell off their assets, or morph into new much slimmer versions of their former selves, is a personal choice for the companies and investors. Here’s 10 ways you can do it:10 ways to wind down your green startup
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Apple's new iOS 5 software for iPhones, shipping this fall, has many additions, but appears to have one notable subtraction: The music app is no longer called "iPod" -- it's just called "Music." There's a separate app for "Video," as on the iPad and iPod touch.
Apple is probably mostly trying to unify the experience across all of its iOS devices, so playing music and videos is the same on all of them. Simpler, less confusing. It makes sense.
But it's hard to overlook that Apple is also probably starting the inevitable wind-down of the iPod brand.
Since launching almost 10 years ago, the iPod was Apple's most important product for years, driving huge growth at the company and making the iPhone and iPad possible.
But thanks to smarter mobile phones like Apple's own iPhone, listening to music is now mainly a function of your phone, not a separate device like the iPod.
And that's why iPod sales fell 14% year-over-year last quarter, while iPhone sales more than doubled year-over-year. The iPod business is declining, and while it will obviously stick around for many years, it's probably going to go away eventually.
(A first step could be retiring the iPod classic -- the scroll-wheel device that has been on the iPhone's "iPod" app logo since the beginning -- this fall, near its 10th anniversary. That's another good reason to tweak the way the iPhone app works and looks.)
Again, we don't expect the iconic iPod brand to go away any time soon. The iPod touch continues to grow, although Apple could conceivably rename that if it wanted. But other iPods still serve a purpose, and will likely stick around for many years.
But the wheels are in motion. Apple's most important product, the iPhone, won't have the word "iPod" on it anymore. And that's kind of a big deal.
Don't miss: How The iPhone Changed Smartphones Forever
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Apple Starts To Wind Down The "iPod" Brand (AAPL)
by Tina Casey
The sports world is abuzz over the Philadelphia Eagles' decision install a $30 million renewable energy system in their stadium, but sustainability is nothing new for the progressive football franchise. The Eagles established a Go Green program in 2003, way before it was cool. The stadium's distinctive new spiral wind turbines, along with solar and cogeneration installations, will once again set a high bar for other sports venues to follow.
Philadelphia Eagles and Sustainability
Back in 2007, while many sports franchises were still merely mulling over the idea of introducing their fans to sustainability, the NFL was beginning to stake out a leadership position by purchasing renewable energy for the Superbowl. Even so, the Philadelphia Eagles' Go Green program was already four years into its mission, which focused on education, conservation and recycling. In 2007, the team announced that it was upping the ante by
getting at least 100 of its employees to purchase wind energy.
The New Lincoln Financial Field Sustainable Energy Installation
It will be hard to beat the Eagles new sustainable energy system, which is designed for high visibility. Built by the Florida-based company SolarBlue, it will consist of 80 futuristic-looking spiral shaped wind turbines rimming the top of the stadium, and 2,500 solar panels on the facade. The system will also include a 7.6 megawatt cogeneration plant along with a "smart microgrid" system to keep everything running at maximum efficiency.
Green is Green
Green means big bucks for the Eagles, because the system will generate 4 megawatts of excess energy off-peak, which will be sold back to the grid. The franchise also expects to save $60 million in energy costs over the next 20 years.
Sports and Sustainability
Not to sell other sports short, by the way. This year, Major League Baseball announced a comprehensive sustainability strategy, and the ski industry and golf industry are also charging ahead with conservation and renewable energy projects. Even NASCAR has begun to focus on shrinking its carbon footprint and reducing its use of toxic chemicals. Hey, if NASCAR is into it, what are all those politicians so afraid of?
Reprinted with permission from Cleantechnica
Massachusetts-based wind power developer First Wind Holdings pulled plans for an initial public offering just hours before the company's stock was due to begin trading on the Nasdaq last Thursday.
Initially the company wanted to sell roughly 12 million shares in a price range of $24 to $26 each, which would have raised as much as $312 million.
A lowered price range of $18 to $20 was announced Wednesday morning, with trading set to begin on Thursday. But apparently the underwriters were not willing to match even the lowered price range in final negotiations.
"While we received significant interest from potential investors during the marketing of our IPO, the terms that the IPO market was seeking at this time were not attractive to the company,'' First Wind CEO Paul Gaynor said in a statement.
Investors may be uneasy with First Wind, because the firm holds more than $500 million in long-term debt and has lost money each of the last two years--$64.3 million in 2008 and $57.1 million in 2009.
However the company said in March it had assets of $1.7 billion--including $31.4 million in cash.
Earlier this year First Wind received a $117 million loan guarantee from the Department of Energy to build a 30-megawatts (MW) wind farm in Hawaii.
The company also has completed the first 200 MW phase of a Utah wind farm that supplies power to the city of Los Angeles. And they are expanding the Stetson Wind project, which was the first utility-scale wind farm in Maine.
Photo by Rudolf Ammann/Wikimedia/Creative Commons
Reprinted with permission from Sustainable Business
