Green Energy Reporter

5:   A123 Systems

It’s been a little more than a month since the initial public offering (IPO) of lithium-ion battery maker, A123 Systems.

So far the stock is still trading above its IPO price. On Monday, November 2nd the stock closed at $19.54. The company went public on September 23 at $13.50. A couple of weeks ago it announced a deal with Japanese heavy equipment manufacturer IHI Corp., to sell batteries and battery systems to the automobile and ship building sectors. The deal assures A123 an entry into the competitive Japanese and Asian markets.

But will the battery maker run out of breath? The stock is down from its $28.20 high of a few weeks ago and although its revenues are steadily climbing, the company has yet to turn a profit.

4:   Exxon Mobil Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Rex Tillerson

The head of the world’s most powerful company will always be a force to be reckoned with.

We challenged his advocacy of a carbon tax at the beginning of October, which seems more like a stall tactic than an actual move forward on climate change legislation. But a company that plows tens of billions of dollars into energy R&D and exploration – notably a $600 million investment in Synthetic Genomics’ algae-based biofuel – wields a lot of clout.

Lately, Exxon officials have also been pushing natural gas as the clean and cost-effective fossil fuel of the future. And you know, they’ve got a point…

3:   Exelon’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Rowe

John Rowe speaks truth to the powers that be.

Early on, Rowe understood that human-made climate change is not a cooked-up theory and that as a carbon-dependent power producer, Exelon could play a significant role in finding a solution to this issue. Last month, along with San Francisco’s PG&E and New Mexico’s PNM, Exelon pulled out of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce because of its anti-cap-and-trade and climate change stance.

Rowe is a pragmatic business man, all too aware that the carbon-based free lunch is over. And so, in this carbon-constrained world, out of a desire for regulatory certainty, he’s pushing for legislation that prices carbon, rather than providing more power to the EPA.

2:  U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue

Sure, he’s been battered by bad publicity, membership-card burnings by the most respected and innovative companies in America, and then there was that zany refusal to admit that global warming is real.

Oh, and the Chamber got pranked by The Yes Men.  But lots of companies hate, hate, hate climate change legislation for lots of reasons and Donohue is now their man.When Chevron Vice Chairman John Watson wants to pillory cap and trade as unrealistic, his venue is obvious: he goes to the Chamber. And despite the high profile companies that have dropped out, Donohue still has a lot more on the membership rolls and plenty of cash to boot.

Don’t rule this guy out.

1:  Democratic Sens. John Kerry and Barbara Boxer

We had our doubts, especially when they introduced a bill with few details and refused to use the words “cap and trade,” but the two coastal Democratic senators have put together a formidable campaign for climate change legislation.

First, Kerry brought Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham on board with some sensible compromises on offshore drilling, nuclear power and clean coal. The partnership put fence-sitting Republicans like Alaskan Sen. Lisa Murkowski in play.

Then Boxer came out with a Chairman’s Mark that stuck close to the bill the House passed this spring and has proved a forceful advocate. It certainly helps that the Obama Administration seems to have finally found its voice – packaging climate change as an economic issue.
Photo: Boxer/Kerry courtesy Chris Kleponis/Flickr