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Rooftop solar power making coal obsolete in Australia: By Tero Kuittinen July 9, 2014 4:38 PM- Rooftop solar panels are becoming such a powerful factor in the energy market that they now can push the price of electricity to negative territory in the sunniest regions of the world. This is possible because powering down fossil fuel energy generators during peak solar power periods would be more expensive than paying customers to use the electricity.The negative energy price barrier was breached in Queensland, Australia, where low demand and high rooftop solar power generation pushed the wholesale electricity price to AUD -$100 per megawatt-hour on Wednesday afternoon, July 2. This is mid-winter in Australia, so daily temperatures are mild. Household appliance usage dips in the early afternoon and peaks in mornings and afternoons, so an early afternoon during a sunny Australian winter is the period when solar power is at its zenith.
Queensland is a special case due to local overbuilding of coal power plants and bad policy decisions. This is an example of how the rapid growth of solar energy is catching governments off guard. More than a million Australians have already installed rooftop panels, causing demand for electricity supplied by traditional utilities to plunge. According to analysis from UBS, demand for electricity in Australia has dropped by 13% over the past four years. 75% of Australia’s residential buildings and up to 90% of commercial buildings may be equipped by rooftop solar panels within 10 years.
Apple recently announced plans to expand its massive North Carolina solar power farm substantially. China’s solar power panel production is expected to double by 2017 as the country focuses on creating massive economies of scale to help drive down panel pricing. Various American tech companies are trying to compete against China’s raw government subsidy policies by introducing advances in materials, such as thin-film photovoltaic technology.
This dramatic rivalry between American and Chinese solar panel industries is likely to yield substantial reduction in solar power costs over the next five years. By the end of the decade, the idea of homes and companies getting close to self-sustaining regarding energy production and consumption may become the norm in the sunnier American states.
I agree and sent new email to MMMW this morning: BTM; here is a copy of it: Hi Mr. Ricker, I was wondering if you can provide a projects operations update for the solar tracker ? Best Regards,
"The future income may be recognized by Mass Megawatts Investors in stock price appreciation..." Good!
Reassuring Patent Search for MMMW CEO: Mr. Ricker- Patents by Inventor Jonathan C Ricker (Issued before 2014, and related to wind devices):
Multi directional augmenter and diffuser
Patent number: 8408867
Abstract: This invention relates to an augmenter system for the increase of power generation primarily used for utilizing wind energy. The augmenter system includes an augmenter having a plurality of walls, such as flexible walls, connected to each other with supporting horizontal elongated members. The augmenter is used in conjunction with a blade system and an air flow regulation or furling system to achieve optimal power output. The augmenter includes a relatively lightweight, low cost flexible wall structure to enhance an air flow into impact impellers associated with the blade system. In one arrangement, the blade system defines a swept area with a height to diameter ratio of greater than four. In one arrangement, the blade system defines a swept area with a height to diameter ratio of greater than ten.
Type: Grant
Filed: November 11, 2011
Issued: April 2, 2013
Inventor: Jonathan C. Ricker
Multi Directional Augmenter and Diffuser
Application number: 20120104759
Abstract: This invention relates to an augmenter system for the increase of power generation primarily used for utilizing wind energy. The augmenter system includes an augmenter having a plurality of walls, such as flexible walls, connected to each other with supporting horizontal elongated members. The augmenter is used in conjunction with a blade system and an air flow regulation or furling system to achieve optimal power output. The augmenter includes a relatively lightweight, low cost flexible wall structure to enhance an air flow into impact impellers associated with the blade system. In one arrangement, the blade system defines a swept area with a height to diameter ratio of greater than four. In one arrangement, the blade system defines a swept area with a height to diameter ratio of greater than ten.
Type: Application
Filed: November 11, 2011
Issued: May 3, 2012
Inventor: Jonathan C. Ricker
Multiaxis turbine
Patent number: 6864597
Abstract: Multiaxis Turbine with an external upper covering, a tower structure with a plurality of vertical elongated members connected to each other with supporting horizontal elongated members, and a plurality of smaller blades on a rotation connected to a tower structure with a plurality of the rotation. A preferred embodiment includes impact impellers connected to a rotation creating a swept area with a height to diameter ratio of greater than four. A preferred embodiment includes wherein said impact impellers connected to a rotation means creating a swept area with a height to diameter ratio of greater than ten.
Type: Grant
Filed: January 13, 2000
Issued: March 8, 2005
Inventor: Jonathan C Ricker
MMMW has little debt and already has experience in electricity production already under their belts (through the wind devices). By having reliable solar tracking equipment, and the subsequent increased capability to produce valuable electricity, the company ought to become profitable quickly.
A Greater Role for Mr. Decker, who transitions from a director to the Chief Operating Officer: new responsibilities to attend to as the company moves forward; greater involvement seen as operations are set to expand!
New help: Great news as the company grows! Effective July 3, 2014, Gary Bedell, age 57, was appointed as Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Bedell was not appointed pursuant to any arrangement either of him and any other person. There is not any transaction currently or in the past with the Company in which Mr. Bedell either has or had a direct or indirect material interest.
Mr. Bedell has over 23 years of experience in electrical and engineering management with several years of technical experience including structural, mechanical, and computer engineering related work. Mr. Bedell has been involved with the planning and construction of projects requiring factory automation, production line planning and other process engineering related activities.
The information in this Form 8-K and shall not be deemed "filed" for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act") or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that Section, or incorporated by reference in any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act......
Hi BTM, IMHO, It's no easy task to update a website, if you're not a Director or Chairman of the company employing the website...usually the IT department of a company can do this: for MMMW, Mr.Ricker himself will probably be the person in charge of changing the website.
The solar maximum is at solstice, June 20-21, so I would expect any testing to be wrapped up around this time, in order to submit the best results, for the evaluation of the Patent Claim. Anticipating that the patent is granted, and with the manufacturing plant (still in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania?) set to begin production for the market, I suggest that The Company name, Mass Megawatts Wind Power, be changed to the following: Mass Megawatts Solar Power, or something suitable, to describe the new direction that the company is going, after the letdown of the wind equipment. A good company now, for the long-term investor!
Background Information about the Provisional Patent Process: General questions about patents and trademarks?
Go to: USPTO Contact Center
Telephone:
800-786-9199
E-mail:
usptoinfo@uspto.gov
PROVISIONAL APPLICATION FOR PATENT
FEBRUARY 2011
Since June 8, 1995, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has offered inventors the option of filing a provisional application for patent which was designed to provide a lower-cost first patent filing in the United States and to give U.S. applicants parity with foreign applicants under the GATT Uruguay Round Agreements.
A provisional application for patent is a U.S. national application for patent filed in the USPTO under 35 U.S.C. §111(b). It allows filing without a formal patent claim, oath or declaration, or any information disclosure (prior art) statement. It provides the means to establish an early effective filing date in a later filed non-provisional patent application filed under 35 U.S.C. §111(a). It also allows the term “Patent Pending” to be applied in connection with the description of the invention.
A provisional application for patent (provisional application) has a pendency lasting 12 months from the date the provisional application is filed. The 12-month pendency period cannot be extended. Therefore, an applicant who files a provisional application must file a corresponding non-provisional application for patent (non-provisional application) during the 12-month pendency period of the provisional application in order to benefit from the earlier filing of the provisional application. In accordance with 35 U.S.C. §119(e), the corresponding non-provisional application must contain or be amended to contain a specific reference to the provisional application.
Once a provisional application is filed, an alternative to filing a corresponding non-provisional application is to convert the provisional application to a non-provisional application by filing a grantable petition under 37 C.F.R. §1.53(c)(3) requesting such a conversion within 12 months of the provisional application filing date.
However, converting a provisional application into a non-provisional application (versus filing a nonprovisional application claiming the benefit of the provisional application) will have a negative impact on patent term. The term of a patent issuing from a nonprovisional application resulting from the conversion of a provisional application will be measured from the original filing date of the provisional application.
By filing a provisional application first, and then filing a corresponding non-provisional application that references the provisional application within the 12-month provisional application pendency period, a patent term endpoint may be extended by as much as 12 months.
The current MMMW Float is 86% of shares outstanding.
Latest Shares Outstanding
36.8
mil
Float
31.5
mil
Source: Investorshub.com; MMMW; Financials 6/9/2014
An Additional 2.5 million shares will be added to the shares outstanding in the next quarter, and the float will then be 86.5% (See Edgar Filing 5/14)
Here is a little Business Story to Share: A successful businessman was asked the secret of his success. He replied: "Two Words." What two words are those, he was asked? He replied: "Good Decisions." And how do you make good decisions, he was asked? He replied: "One Word." And what word is that, he was asked? He replied: "Experience." And how do you get experience, he was asked? He replied: "Two words." And what two words are those, he was asked? He replied: "Bad Decisions."
Keep the faith, BTM, solar's positively coming on strongly.
Good article, Capt. Smith. Thank you. I see the following timeline: Patent granted and published by March, 2015; first employees and first community solar project finished by July, 2015, and the company adding more community solar projects at the rate of 2 or 3 in each year 2016 and 2017, with stock price near $1.00 per share around 2018. At about 2 cents a share today, I think this company makes for a good investment at this time.
"Now MMMW's Business Model is Right This Time!" Have you seen this article by Katie Fehrenbacher May 16, 2014:
Solar panels are now remaking the energy equation in the U.S. and breaking records for installations every quarter: There were more solar panels installed in the U.S. over the last 18 months than the last 30 years. But when it comes to making money off of this solar boom, some of the largest energy companies in the U.S. have (so far) left money on the table.
Why? It wasn’t that they didn’t have access to some obscure panel technology patent that was invented years ago in a university lab. Or that they didn’t have deep knowledge of how cheap solar panels would one day become. It was a drop-dead simple business-model innovation that they — for whatever reason — didn’t jump on.
At the World Energy Innovation Forum at the Tesla factory in Fremont, Calif. this week, the CEO of GE, Jeff Immelt, said during an onstage interview that GE had focused so intently on how bad the solar panel business was that they “missed SolarCity.” “My God I wish I had thought of that,” said Immelt.
Immelt isn’t the only energy leader that has been thinking about SolarCity. The CEO of NRG Energy, David Crane, told me during an interview earlier this year that NRG wants to be as big or bigger than SolarCity in its newly launched residential solar financing and installation business, which is similar to the one that SolarCity founded in 2006.
If you haven’t heard of it, SolarCity is the now-public company founded by South African entrepreneurial brothers Lyndon and Peter Rive; their cousin Elon Musk is SolarCity’s chairman. SolarCity has built a business off of financing and installing solar panels on the rooftops of buildings owned by families and businesses.
SolarCity can provide the upfront financing for the solar system so that the customer doesn’t have to put any money down to get the panels, and this is the key that has unlocked the solar panel business. Instead of paying tens of thousands of dollars for a solar panel system, the customer pays SolarCity for the cost of the solar energy on a monthly basis, which can be less expensive than what they’ve been paying the local utility. Depending on the deal, the contract can last a couple decades.
In its recent earnings report last week, SolarCity said it had more than doubled its revenue to $63 million for the quarter compared to last year while cutting its losses for the quarter almost in half to a loss of $24 million (from $41 million last year), and it also raised its guidance for the year. SolarCity has a goal of becoming one of the largest suppliers of electricity in the U.S., and it’s on its way to getting there — it says it will exit 2014 with more than 2 gigawatts of cumulative solar power deployed. The company went public in late 2012 at $9.25 per share, and it’s now trading just under $50 per share.
SolarCity actually didn’t even pioneer this business model. That was SunEdison — Jigar Shah founded SunEdison in 2003 with a new financing model called the solar power purchase agreement (PPA). SunEdison was acquired by solar materials maker MEMC in 2009 for $200 million.
When I tweeted about Immelt’s confession this week, Shah tweeted in response: “@jeffimmelt and I keynoted an MIT panel together in 2007, he didn’t miss SunEdison he ignored it.” Shah has even written a book about how to get wealthy off of clean energy and climate, and hint: a lot of it is about the business model.
Several years ago GE was actually in the solar panel business, and was working with partners on various types of manufacturing. GE wanted to make solar power as big of a business as its wind power division selling wind turbines (which is huge). But for companies that were making solar cells, wafers and panels, the bottom dropped out of that market a couple years ago. GE put many of its solar manufacturing plans on hold as the market got ugly.
Massive Chinese solar manufacturing companies — propped up by low cost government loans from the Chinese government — were making more solar panels than there was world demand for and they were making them below market value. The cost of silicon, the main ingredient in traditional solar panels, also cratered, making solar panels cheaper than they had ever been. This was a terrible time for solar manufacturing companies — like (infamously) Solyndra, but also two dozen others that are much larger — but it was a great time to be a company in the business of installing and financing super cheap solar panels.
The good news for huge energy companies like GE and NRG Energy is that it’s not too late to get into the business of installing and financing solar panels on rooftops. Yes, there are big brands developing the market like SolarCity, and it’s starting to get competitive and crowded. The more established companies are gearing up — just this week SunRun, another solar financing player, announced that it has raised another massive equity funding round of $150 million.
But the market for solar panels is just at the very beginning in both the U.S. and the world. NRG Energy launched its residential solar financing and installation company more formally earlier this year (though had been trying to do it in fits and starts over the past couple of years), and Crane sees the market as pretty wide open. He told me NRG is trying to learn from some of the fast moving and innovative large internet companies like Apple, Google, Amazon and Facebook that have managed to stay nimble and industry-leading despite being so large and so consumer-facing.
The fact that GE and NRG Energy missed this business model innovation the first time around isn’t all that surprising. It’s the century-old tale of entrepreneurs and startups moving faster, thinking more creatively and operating more flexibly than big conglomerates — and winning. This of course has happened in countless business over the centuries, causing massive disruption in industries like telecom, video distribution and photography.
But that it’s happening in energy and clean power right now is exciting because it shows that the entrepreneurial spirit can have a fundamental affect on the huge and entrenched energy sector. Which gives hope that there might be a way to disrupt climate change after all.
Yes, this good news means company is growing! Its' about time to start earnings, and profits will follow growth. Solar tracking can be huge. Many have been disappointed with the wind equipment up until now.
This is key to company growth: sales force! April 30, 2014 / - Mass Megawatts Wind Power, Inc. (MMMW) today announces plans to hire installation, electrical, and sales employees for the company’s new solar tracking technology business.
CEO and CFO Mr. Ricker increases his stake by almost 10% more; from the Edgar filing at 4:43 pm April 28, 2014
Solar Competition is in the News Today Story #1 Why Your Neighbors Will Finance Solar Panels for Your Roof
By Todd Woody 11 hours ago (from Yahoo)
Here’s another reason to be nice to the neighbors: They might just give you a no-money-down, low-cost loan to put solar panels on your roof, and once you pay off that debt you’ll get essentially free electricity as long as you own your home.
Welcome to the latest innovation in renewable energy: The crowdsourced solar loan.
The loans are administered by Mosaic, an Oakland, Calif., startup that made its name by letting ordinary investors – that’s you and me – put money into commercial and non-profit solar projects that were once the exclusive domain of big banks and corporations like Google.
In the coming months, the environmentally minded can go to Mosaic’s site and invest in portfolio of 20-year loans made to homeowners. (Each individual loan will be scrubbed of identifying information.) Mosaic is offering the loans through a partnership with solar installer RGS Energy.
The interest rate is 4.99 percent as long as homeowners pay down the loan with a 30 percent federal tax credit they’ll receive for installing a solar system. If they keep the tax credit, the rate jumps to 10 percent after 18 months.
“We think a solar loan if structured right can open up the market and make solar more affordable and accessible for more homeowners,” Mosaic co-founder Billy Parish told The Atlantic.
That goes against the grain of solar financing. In recent years, leases have driven the explosion in residential solar installations as they let homeowners avoid the typical five-figure cost of buying a solar array. Instead, homeowners would pay a monthly fee to a solar installer like SolarCity or Sungevity that in most cases is less than what they’d fork over to their local utility for electricity. In California, for instance, leases account for two-thirds of residential solar installations.
But leases also are a product of the peculiar way the federal government subsidizes solar energy in the United States.
Individuals and businesses that install solar panels qualify for a 30 percent tax credit – known as the investment tax credit, or ITC. Since young solar companies like SolarCity have few taxes to offset, they instead transfer the credits to banks and corporations that put up funds to finance the installation of solar systems for homeowners. These so-called tax equity funds have financed billions of dollars in residential leases in recent years.
But with the ITC set to decline to 10% at the end of 2016, tax equity investors are expected to look for other places to put their money. In the meantime, rooftop solar has gone from being one of those nutty-crunchy California affectations to a mainstream phenomenon and a hedge against rising electricity prices.
That mean homeowners more comfortable taking out loans to pay for a solar system.
“Solar is no longer an emerging technology,” says Jon Doochin, chief executive of Soligent, a California solar distributor that provides financing and other services to independent solar installers. “People say, ‘Solar I get it.’ ”
More important, banks get it. So these days companies like Soligent can offer loan financing at competitive rates – around 6 percent to 14 percent – to homeowners who previously would have had to tap their home equity lines or credit cards to pay for a solar system.
“The rates are dropping significantly because people have more confidence in the technology,” says Doochin.
And there’s another reason homeowners may increasingly opt to own rather than rent: A study by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that a solar system boosted a home’s resale price by $17,000.
Story#2 Hannon Armstrong and Sol Systems to Fund $100 Million of Solar
Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital Inc. and Sol Systems LLC, two renewable-energy investment financing companies, plan to jointly offer as much as $100 million this year to fund distributed-generation solar power systems.
Here's an example of what generating positive revenues can do to a company's stock price: WDAS
April 1 SEC form 8-K Disclosure:UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Date of Report (DATE OF EARLIEST EVENT REPORTED) April 1, 2014
MASS MEGAWATTS WIND POWER, INC.
(EXACT NAME OF REGISTRANT AS SPECIFIED IN ITS CHARTER)
MASSACHUSETTS
(STATE OR OTHER JURISDICTION OF INCORPORATION)
000-32465 04-3402789
(COMMISSION FILE NUMBER NO.) (IRS EMPLOYER IDENTIFICATION NO.)
95 Prescott Street, Worcester, MA 01605
(ADDRESS OF PRINCIPAL EXECUTIVE OFFICES)
Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (508) 751-5432
NOT APPLICABLE
(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):
o Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)
o Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
o Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
o Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e
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Item 7.01. Regulation FD Disclosure
Mass Megawatts Wind Power, Inc. recently achieved progress in debt reduction and an improved cash flow status. The company raised enough cash to accelerate its ongoing operations in its new solar energy and solar tracker business. Additionally, the Company no longer experiences a severe cash flow problem. Most of the time including the recent past, Mass Megawatts was burdened with cash and debt issues. As a result, Mass Megawatts is now financially poised to achieve their business goals.
Earlier this year, Mass Megawatts announced modifications of its solar tracking system. The patent pending, Mass Megawatts ‘Solar Tracking System’ (STS) is designed to increase solar energy production by approximately 25% for less than an estimated 7% additional cost than a standard stationary configuration. The new product automatically adjusts the position of solar panels to receive an optimal level of direct sunlight throughout the day. Unlike other solar tracking technologies, the Mass Megawatts STS utilizes a low-cost structure that adds stability to the overall system while improving energy production levels.
The STS utilizes an innovative structural design that combines a simple, yet robust, A-frame design with a low-cost, protective outer-wall. Using a non-electrical, and passive, tracking technology, the solar panels are automatically repositioned throughout the day as the sun's position travels from east to west. Other tracking systems are subject to wind related structural stress and are more expensive to overcome for weather related issues. Some designs in the solar market are more expensive than the stationary units.
The STS allows Mass Megawatts to lower material costs and reduce the number of solar panels needed to generate the rated capacity. Due to this advantage, Mass Megawatts can deliver more solar power production at a price similar to lower-capacity, stationary systems. Specifically, the company plans to offer 6.25 kW rated STS units at a price that’s competitive to stationary 5 kW systems. In the best locations with high electric prices and good incentives, this improved output translates into rate of return on investment of more than 25 percent. In other locations, the investment payback is projected to be less than three and one half years. Further, by taking advantage of a lease program or power purchase agreement (PPA) arrangement with the company, a customer may realize an immediate, positive cash flow, as immediate energy savings and/or revenues will be realized and/or exceed the monthly payments due.
Starting at 6.25 kW rated units, a Mass Megawatts STS system is appropriate for ground-level, residential and business sites, as well as, commercial, roof-top installations. Mass Megawatts coordinates all aspects of system delivery, including permitting, installation, and working to obtain any available tax incentives. They monitor the performance of each system, and provide a full, performance guarantee.
With its patent pending, Solar Tracking System, Wind Electric Power Generation system, only approximately 37 million shares issued and outstanding and very little debt, Mass Megawatts believes it is well positioned to ramp-up production in the shorter term while expanding its infrastructure to support mass-production goals in the longer term.
This disclosure contains forward-looking statements that could be affected by risks and uncertainties. Among the factors that could cause actual events to differ materially from those indicated herein are: the failure of Mass Megawatts Wind Power, also known as Mass Megawatts Windpower, to achieve or maintain necessary zoning approvals with respect to the location of its power developments; the ability to remain competitive; to finance the marketing and sales of its electricity; general economic conditions; and other risk factors detailed in periodic reports filed by Mass Megawatts Wind Power. Additionally, Mass Megawatts Wind Power stock quote and Mass Megawatts stock price may be impacted by global condition. Mass Megawatts Wind Power Inc. expected and anticipated positive and negative impact on the Mass Megawatts stock price and the MMMW stock quote.
2
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
MASS MEGAWATTS WIND POWER, INC.
April 1, 2014 By: /s/ Jonathan C. Ricker
Jonathan C. Ricker
Chief Executive Officer
Chief Financial Officer
3
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Improved Cash Flow: Now that's really good news. WORCESTER, MA / ACCESSWIRE / March 24, 2014 / Mass Megawatts Wind Power, Inc. (MMMW) today announces progress in debt reduction and an improved cash flow status. The company raised enough cash to accelerate its ongoing operations in its new solar energy and solar tracker business. Additionally, the Company no longer experiences a severe cash flow problem. Most of the time including the recent past, Mass Megawatts was burdened with cash and debt issues. As a result, Mass Megawatts is now financially poised to achieve their business goals....
Can MMMW do deals with a Big Boy? First Solar Inc. (FSLR), the largest U.S. solar-panel maker, is boosting its efforts to install systems at industrial sites and warehouses as utilities demand smaller solar farms.
Pursuing smaller projects and customer-sited systems may increase sales as much as 36 percent over the next three years, Chief Executive Officer Jim Hughes said at an analyst event in New York yesterday.
Good to see company updated website this week!
If product is in place, and production facility is in place, then it's time to hire a salesforce.