BUSINESS BRIEFS
Contract boosts Hoku shares 15%
Advertiser Staff and News Services
Shares of Hoku Scientific Inc., the Kapolei-based clean energy technology company, jumped 15 percent on news that it had completed a sales deal that will provide needed funds for a polysilicon plant it is building in Idaho.
The shares jumped 85 cents to $6.52 in trading on the Nasdaq stock market.
The share price spike followed Hoku's announcement that it had signed a 10-year polysilicon supply contract worth up to $298 million with Jiangxi Kinko Energy Co. About $55 million of the contract will be prepaid, giving Hoku funds it needs to help finance a $390 million polysilicon plant it is constructing outside of Pocatello, Idaho.
The plant will produce 3,500 metric tons annually of polysilicon, a material in high demand for the production of photovoltaic panels.
Hoku's shares have declined about 44 percent this year.
FARMERS, OTHERS MAY APPLY FOR LOAN
The Hawai'i Department of Agriculture is accepting loan applications from agricultural and aquacultural operations to fund renewable energy technology under a recently enacted law.
The new loan program, authorized under Act 209, has a maximum loan amount of $1.5 million or 85 percent of the renewable energy project cost, whichever is less. Renewable energy technologies that would qualify under the program include photovoltaic, hydroelectric, wind, methane, biodiesel and ethanol. Loan funds may be used for infrastructure, equipment, land improvement and operating costs associated with the project.
Loans granted through Dec. 31, 2008, will have between a 3 percent and 5 percent interest rate, depending on the type of operation. Applicants must be full-time farmer, rancher, grower or aquaculturist and must have resided in Hawai'i for the past three years and have been a citizen of the U.S. or a permanent resident of the U.S. during that period.
For more information, call 973-9460 on O'ahu, 974-4140 in Hilo, 323-7591 in Kona, 274-3141 on Kaua'i, 984-2400 on Maui and 800-468-4644 on Moloka'i.
STARWOOD GAINS 3 MEETINGS HONORS
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Hawai'i was honored with three Pinnacle Awards by Successful Meetings magazine.
Meeting planners who read the industry publication picked the Sheraton Waikiki, Sheraton Maui Resort and the Moana Surfrider, a Westin Resort, through ballots in the December 2007 issue.
Voters were asked to name the "best in category" based on service and expertise of hotel staff, quality and number of services provided, and timely response/follow-up to any questions or problems.
The Pinnacle Award is one of the meeting industry's most prestigious honors.
It was the 21st time that the Sheraton Waikiki has received a Pinnacle Award; the Sheraton Maui Resort won once before in 2006 and Moana Surfrider is a first-time winner. Each year the Pinnacle winners are showcased in a special August issue of Successful Meetings magazine, in which the "best of the best" are listed and profiled.
BAE WINS $22.8M MILITARY CONTRACT
BAE Systems Technology Solutions & Services Inc. has won a $22.8 million contract for logistical support and services at Schofield Barracks, Fort Shafter, Wheeler Army Airfield and the Pohakuloa Training Area.
BAE won the contract over six other firms that bid on it. The contract extends through October 2017.
