Intel boosts Green Power stocks

CHIP-MAKER Intel has moved to boost its Green credentials by becoming the largest corporate buyer of Green power in the United States.

The US Environmental Protection Agency latest Green Power Partners Top 25 list puts Intel in the number one position.

Intel also announced yesterday that it would purchase more than 1.3 billion kilowatt-hours a year of renewable energy certificates as part of a broad plan to reduce its impact on the environment.

The company said it hoped the record-setting purchase would help stimulate the market for green power, which should lead to additional generating capacity and ultimately, lower costs.

Renewable energy certificates, or RECs, are the “currency” of the renewable energy market and are widely recognised as a having credible and tangible environmental benefits.

Intel's REC purchase includes a portfolio of wind, solar, small hydro-electric and biomass sources.

“We have a long history of commitment to the environment and energy efficiency is an important consideration in everything we do, from building transistors to designing microprocessors and running our factories,” said Intel president and chief executive Paul Otellini.

Mr Otellini, who is also a member of the Copenhagen Climate Council, a global group of leaders working to achieve an effective global climate treaty at next year's UN Environmental Summit in Copenhagen, said the renewable purchase was just one part of a multi-faceted approach to protect the environment.

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Intel Q2 profit surge

DESPITE its ongoing corporate restructure, chip-maker Intel second quarter profits have jumped 44 per cent to US$1.3 billion (A$1.5 billion), the company said.

Intel said revenue climbed to US$8.3 billion. The results included an US$82 million restructuring charge taken for the uarter.

“Intel's operational execution continued to strengthen, resulting in an outstanding product roadmap and solid year-over-year revenue growth,” Intel president and chief executive Paul Otellini said.

“We're pleased that our efforts to streamline the company are delivering profit growth in excess of revenue growth,’” he said.

And Intel said it expects continued strong growth in the third quarter on the back of a healthy global IT market. The company has forecast revenue growth to US$9 billion to US$9.6 billion, with gross margin up marginally to 52 per cent.

Intel has enjoyed strong sales growth for its quad-core Xeon server processors, but has suffered a slowdown at the low-end of the PC chip market through stiff price competition.

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Intel joins One Laptop Per Child initiative

THE world's largest processor manufacturer Intel has joined the One Laptop Per Child initiative, which seeks to bring low-cost computers to third world children as a means of improving education and fighting poverty.

Under the terms of an agreement signed last week, Intel and OLPC will explore collaborations involving technology and educational content.
Intel will also join the board of OLPC.

OLPC aims to bring learning opportunities to the most remote and poorest children of the world by providing connected, low-cost and rugged laptops to each and every child in their daily lives.
"Intel joins the OLPC board as a world leader in technology, helping reach the world's children. Collaboration with Intel means that the maximum number of laptops will reach children," said One Laptop per Child founder Nicholas Negroponte said.

One Laptop per Child (OLPC) was created to design, manufacture, and distribute laptops that are sufficiently inexpensive to provide every child in the world access to knowledge and modern forms of education.

The laptops will be sold to governments and issued to children by schools on a basis of one laptop per child. These machines will be rugged, Linux-based, and so energy efficient that hand-cranking alone will generate sufficient power for operation. Mesh networking will give many machines Internet access from one connection.

"Joining OLPC is a further example of our commitment to education over the last 20 years and our belief in the role of technology in bringing the opportunities of the 21st century to children around the world," Intel chief executive Paul Otellini said.

Intel currently invests more than US$100 million (A$114 million) per year in more than 50 countries to promote education, and has been developing products for the educational marketplace.

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Intel confirms $3.1b chip fab plant

INTEL chief executive Paul Otellini has confirmed the company will spend US$2.5 billion (A$3.1 billion), 300 millimetre wafer fabrication plant in China.

The investment in a plant called Fab 68 in the north eastern Chinese city of Dalian will become Intel’s first fab in Asia.

“China is our fastest-growing major market and we believe it's critical that we invest in markets that will provide for future growth to better serve our customers,” Mr Otellini said.

The Fab 68 plant is the first wafer fabrication facility the company has built at a new site in 15 years. The last time Intel broke ground for a fab at a new site was with the construction of Fab 10 in Ireland in 1992.

“Intel has been involved in China for more than 22 years and over that time we’ve invested in excess of $1.3 billion in assembly test facilities and research and development,” Mr Otellini said.

“This new investment will bring our total to just under $4 billion, making Intel one of the largest foreign investors in China.”

The company said construction on Fab 68 would begin later this year and production is expected to start in the first half of 2010. Initial production would be dedicated to chipsets to support Intel’s core microprocessor business.

Zhang Xiaoqiang, the vice chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission that approved Intel’s foreign investment said the development was one of the biggest cooperative development projects between China and the US in recent years.

“We support Intel's initiative to expand and strengthen cooperation with relevant parties in a number of areas, such as talent training, technology standards, improved information technology for rural areas and digital health, to promote the mutual benefit and win-win of Intel and the information industry of China, and to achieve the goal of growing together,” Mr Zhang said in a statement.

When completed, Fab 68 will become part of Intel's manufacturing network that includes eight 300mm factories in 2010 with other fabs located in the United States, Ireland and Israel.

Manufacturing with 300mm wafers dramatically increases the ability to produce semiconductors at a lower cost compared with more commonly used 200mm (eight-inch) wafers.

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