A member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission reiterated Tuesday  that FERC’s Order 1000, which becomes effective October 10, 2011 in the face of considerable opposition from certain elements of the electricity utilities sector, will give regional grid operators the means to improve system reliability and will also stimulate much needed investment in transmission lines.

KIOR, Inc., the Pasadena, Texas-based cellulosic fuels company that filed its IPO prospectus in April 2011, said Thursday it has priced its offering at $15 per share and will offer 10 million shares to the public and another 1.5 million shares to its underwriters as over-allotment options -- bringing the total proceeds to $172.5 million.

Siemens AG (NYSE: SI) said this week its U.S. division Siemens Energy will supply power equipment and long-term service to PacifiCorp’s proposed 637-megawatt (MW) Lake Side 2 combined-cycle gas-fired power plant at Vineyard, Utah, 30 miles south of Salt Lake City. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The Hawaii Public Utilities Commission said June 15 it had approved a 20-year contract for Maui Electric Company to purchase 21 megawatts (MW) of wind power from Sempra Generation’s Auwahi Wind project on the Ulupalakua Ranch in southeastern Maui. The approval also included a determination that Maui Electric could build an above-ground transmission connection to its main local grid line.

Directors, executive officers and other insiders of Molycorp, Inc., (NYSE: MCP) get their first opportunity tomorrow to sell their shares in the company since its initial public offering (IPO) in late July. 

Molycorp is the cornerstone of the U.S. effort to gain a foothold in the production of rare earth elements (REEs), critical ingredients in wind turbines, electric vehicles, thin-film photovoltaic (PV) solar system and high-efficiency lighting. 

This is Day 2 of Winner’s Week in which we highlight five clean energy/tech companies whose share price performances significantly outperformed the overall markets and their clean peers during the first half of 2010 and the year from July 1, 2009.

“The coming boom in lithium” is a phrase that seems to be gaining momentum these days, much to the delight of the dozens of junior companies raising capital to join the rush to find and develop lithium deposits.