Topic: Ethanol

First Solar posted a surprise quarterly loss on Thursday, but raised its full-year profit outlook as it drives down production costs for its solar panels, while peer SunPower slightly beat Wall Street forecasts.

Farmers in California and Ontario, Canada, are signing 20-year leases with a firm that places small solar installations on marginal land.

A new generation of green chemicals from bio-based sources could help industrial production break from the grip of volatile oil prices.

In coming years, energy from waste-heat recovery systems could be the greenest power available, while letting more U.S. businesses squeeze extra energy out of their power bills.

Many investors are shifting funds from capital-intensive alternative-energy technologies, such as solar panels, to lower-cost ventures focused on energy efficiency and “smart grid” technologies that automate electric utility operations.

Syngenta, the world's largest agrochemicals company, is aiming for higher earnings this year as price hikes and cost-cuts are expected to help it offset the impact of the strong Swiss franc and raw material prices.

Bringing greater energy efficiency to commercial buildings promises to be big business. The market is estimated to increase to $100 billion by 2017. Companies doing retrofits stand to reap the benefits from buildings going green.

First Solar cut its 2011 sales and earnings forecast for the second time in two months and forecast 2012 profits below Wall Street's view, sending its shares sharply lower.

Lenders typically factor in loan principal, interest, taxes, and insurance when determining how much mortgage a buyer can afford. Not taken into account are energy costs, which can be more costly than insurance and in some cases taxes.

To mark our annual November "Green Is Universal" week, we've assembled a "Green Winners & Losers 2011" special report, looking at six  industries whose fortunes either rose or fell this year.

The industry has had a profitable year despite the jump in corn prices , but overcapacity and the end of a generous government subsidy are major concerns.

Investors in the solar industry have needed a strong stomach this year, and that’s unlikely to change soon.