Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Its an Extension . . .

As the SkunK guessed we got an extension. The SkunK predicted yesterday the extension request for the annual report would be out at 17:12 et. You can see from the time line on the text version I was off by an hour and 18 minutes. I must be slipping. . .

20090331155450

I have seen filings as they were posted and the acceptance time was already aged for about 15 minutes - so there is some turn around time from acceptance to availability on the net. That being said lets see how fast the news got out after the markets were closed.

The SkunK hasn't done a shout out to the boards in a while. Here is how the three major boards placed reporting the news of the NT.

WIN: I-Hub took first place with _bbb_ reporting the NT at 4:38:29 PM, not bad considering I think he mails it in from Germany.
Place: Raging Bull: hapitomcat announced the NT at 5:00 PM ET from the Lone Star state.
Show: Yahoo: From a Virginia holler todu5613a called in the NT at 05:20 pm ET.

And where was the SkunK as the news broke? Off to Hooterville on a fools errand. Ah yes, before you have to say it, Mrs. SkunK once again tasked the right man for the job.

SkunK

The 10-K Annual Report is due Today.

A 15 day extension can be granted automatically. Either the Annual will be filed today - or - the request for the extension will be filed either today OR tomorrow. The SkunK expects an extension after the bell, and most likely posted on the site below about 17:12 et.
http://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001269127&owner=include&count=40

The SkunK figures about an 80% chance of an extension based on past filings. All this is just my guess. Heck, the company may have some information they WANT to get public, and surprise us all with the Annual today! We will find out when we find out. The rumor that a company that uses the extension is "late" and can be sanctioned after so many times is FALSE. As long as the company files the extension today or tomorrow and then follows up with the annual report within 15 days - it is as if the company filed the original report on the filing date. We normally have a bunch of hand ringing by the same bunch every year about filing an extension - good drama - but nonsense.
******
EDGAR provides a filing service. Here are some of the actual rules that apply:

1. If a filing due date falls on a weekend or SEC holiday, the filing is due on the following business day.

2. The EDGAR system hours of operation for submitting files are 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time, weekdays, excluding Federal Holidays. Files submitted after 5:30 p.m. Eastern (with the exception of Section 16 filings) will receive the next business day's filing date.

3. Companies may request a filing extension for their Form 10-Q's and 10-K's by submitting Form 12b-25 via the EDGAR system. By filing this form, a filer may gain up to 5 additional days to file Form 10-Q or 15 days to file Form 10-K. Companies have up to 24 hours after the original filing deadline to file Form 12b-25.
******
Please, check all this out for yourself - go to the site below and look under 10K Non-Accelerated Filers with the period ending Wednesday, December 31, 2008.
http://www.secfile.net/SEC_calendar.htm

Good Luck to Shareholders
SkunK

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Little bit of Everything

BLAST FROM THE PAST
This is republished from 8 March '08 blog [and with minor SkunK updates] is still relevant today:

Significant events Ahead:10K
You basically get 90 days after the end of the our fiscal (calendar) year to file an annual report. You can get an automatic 15 day extension. We used the 90 day grace period and the 15 day extension in 2003, 2004, 2006 & 2007 {and 2008}. We did not file an extension in 2005. This tells me we have an 80% chance we will see a request for extension on or about 30 March 2009 rather than the actual report. If the extension is used the annual report would then be filed and posted about 15 April. Last year they took the 15 day extension and then only used 7 days and released on 7 April. One more curious thing about the spring 2005 (for 2004 calendar year) report was that it was both on time and the last time total stockholder equity was in the black. A cynical skunk might suggest that the trip home from school is a lot shorter with a good report card. I would guess that a timely report will definitely bring good news - an extension may mean bad news - or it may mean the bean counters really are as busy as two one legged men in a three legged race.
*****

The SkunK expects everyone that has read a newspaper in the last six months would have lowered their expectations for this annual. Expect things getting smaller, not bigger. After all the economy is in the deepest recession in seventy years and the biodiesel industry can only be described as in a depression - with about 75% of capacity idled. If you think that is a poor excuse, then you have an argument with almost every public company in the USA except Walmart and the Pawn Shop Industry. However, two things are important to remember. The "annual" reports as of 31 December 2008 and although the margins in the biodiesel industry dried up - it is yet to be seen if the corn oil extraction was idled. It is possible that by using third party local biodiesel plants, the transportation costs (but also our margins) may have been reduced enough to continue production with 3-4 COES? It will be interesting to read . . .

1Q
1st Quarter 2009 will be reported by May 15th. This has been generally timely in the past. Last year they took 5 day extension option for the quarterly and released on 20 May. It will come about only 30 to 45 days after the annual report.
*****
SkunK's SkunK Stocks
Over the last year that he has worked this blog, the SkunK has said very little about his other financial interests. Just to let you know I may (not?) be a complete idiot, I have said that I have varied investments ranging from Certificates of Deposits (uhhg) to indexes and DOW to etfs/otc/bb stocks. Another stock I have owned long term and followed as it was beaten down is finally starting to wake. NeoMedia Technologies Inc. (NEOM.OB) Man, the the big "U" in this chart is what a "SkunK" stock is all about . . .
http://ih.advfn.com/p.php?pid=webchart&btn=s_ok&ihsymbol=&ihpagelist=Quote&ihbtn=Get+Quote&symbol=USBB%3ANEOM&s_ok=OK&period=6&drawmode=2&size=19&volume=1

This stock has seen plenty of problems and dilution and like any stock or investment I talk about here I am not recommending it. However it it is a leader in its technical field* and recently secured a(nother) key patent . . . Could this little Cinderella story be repeated here? Will it be a patent received or a new technology that lights the fuse? Or will debt take us out . . . All I can say for sure. . . - I plan to be here to find out. . .
*(qcode) http://www.neom.com/imagine.php
*****
Another Possible Clentech in GERS portfolio:
The SkunK has already mentioned that one of the "potential" new technologies developed by GreenShift could be a glycerin to oil process. Glycerin is a 10% byproduct of the biodiesel process and is ripe for adding value. The SkunK remembers two things about High School Chemistry: 1. Glycerin is more closely related to alcohol than biodiesel. 2. I would have liked to have shared some chemistry with that girl that sat in front of me. But having been more focused on the second than the first, I will leave it to the certified smart people to say they can make more oil out of the biodiesel byproduct. In any case, here is one company that recently claims to have found a waste to oil process.

Biodiesel Byproducts Inked
CRANBURY, N.J. (DTN)
XcelPlus Global Holdings Inc., which makes a renewable fuel oil supplement called GlyClene from biodiesel byproducts using a waste-to-oil process, said it entered into a contract to supply the product valued at $40 to $60 million, depending on market conditions. Per the agreement, Oldcastle Materials Inc., a leading U.S. supplier of asphalt and ready mix concrete, will receive 3 million gallons per month of GlyClene. "We will begin deliveries before the end of March," said J. Michael Parsons, president of XcelPlus. "Sales of GlyClene open a new chapter for biodiesel producers with an incentive to ramp up capacity. The revenue opportunity for byproducts creates another salable commodity for the industry's portfolio." Oldcastle, headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., is a subsidiary of CRH plc, which is based in Dublin, Ireland. http://www.dtnethanolcenter.com/index.cfm?show=10&mid=78&pid=44
*****
GLTA Investors,
SkunK

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Is that the sound of a Door Opening Everyone (DOE)?

March 20, 2009
Obama Administration Offers $535 Million Loan Guarantee to Solyndra, Inc.
Investment Could Lead to Thousands of New Jobs


Secretary Chu initially set a target to have the first conditional commitments out by May – three months into his tenure - but today’s announcement significantly outpaces that aggressive timeline. Secretary Chu credited the Department’s loan team for their work accelerating the process to offer this conditional commitment in less than two months, demonstrating the power of teamwork and the speed at which the Department can operate when barriers to success are removed.
DOE Announcement here,
http://www.energy.gov/news2009/7078.htm

*****
March 23, 2009 6:13 AM PDT
Energy Dept. delivers solar loan to Solyndra

Demonstrating that it plans to act quickly with clean-energy loans, the U.S. Department of Energy has made $535 million available to solar start-up Solyndra.

The loan guarantee, announced on Friday, is the first to be approved by the Department of Energy in four years. As part of a broader government stimulus plan, the administration of Energy Secretary Steven Chu has committed to quickly disbursing loans to clean-energy companies.

To the broader green-tech industry, the Energy Department loan is an encouraging sign. Several green technologies have been developed over the past five years, but a number of companies are struggling to get the financing available to scale up their operations and sales.

The money for Solyndra was appropriated in the Energy Act of 2005. On taking office, Chu made dispersing existing and newly available loans a high priority, and created a process specifically for evaluating and expediting them.

With the passage of the massive government stimulus package earlier this year, the federal energy agency has billions of dollars available for loans, for which a number of green-tech companies have applied.
Entire article here,
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10201858-54.html
*****
It is telling that the first offer is over half a billion dollars to a privately held start-up (2005) with a unique (curved rooftop) solar product. Lets hope this is the start of something big for Greenshift!
http://www.solyndra.com/
Private Investors
http://www.solyndra.com/About-Us/Investors
Good luck to Investors,
SkunK

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

New Degumming Technology???

The SkunK has been trying to find some new technologies that would fit in to GreenShifts "entire portfolio of new cleantech designed to leverage our existing extraction
platform". The information we have is this:

"This technology is designed to cost-effectively produce and extract more oil by using our existing extraction assets while favorably impacting the nutritional qualities of the distillers grain ethanol co-product. Significantly, our patent-pending Cellulosic Oil™ technology is also designed to integrate with our extraction technologies into existing biodiesel plants."

The SkunK's first attempt was to find a recently discovered organism that gave off diesel vapors. Now I found that very interesting, especially with the Montana connection, but hardly a technology that GreenShift could have already bench tested.

How about a leading edge technology that works by using an enzyme in the degumming process! Notice that Verenium teamed up with Alfa Laval - a maker of centrifuges/food processing equipment and a prior employer of many of the top Executives and management at GreenShift.

If Greenshift has developed its own degumming enzyme- or another process to add efficiencies to the degumming process - that would explain this INTRIGUING sentence, [Cellulosic Oil™ technology is]"also designed to integrate with our extraction technologies into existing biodiesel plants." An added benefit of a leading edge degumming process might also reduce the Free Fatty Acids in the raw corn oil - something that makes corn oil challenging to process into biodiesel. Verenium claims the oil in the phospholipids cells is released in their process. If our process does the same - it would validate the Cellulosic Oil™ moniker. We would be unlocking oil at the cellular level.

I also find Verenium Corporation pushing out a PR about their technology exactly a week after GreenShift's March 17th Shareholder Letter, another indicator that the SkunK may be on the right track about this technology. . . The PR does not showcase its commercial use or planned commercial use in a specific facility - it just basically says they will recommend Alfa Lavel to future customers. The only real news is the release of the technology. Verenium may have felt the need to release this information before Greenshift gives the details on theirs . . .

*****
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.,
March 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/
Verenium Corporation (Nasdaq: VRNM),
a pioneer in the development of high-performance specialty enzymes and next-generation cellulosic ethanol, today announced it has signed an agreement with Alfa Laval, a leading global provider of heat transfer, separation and fluid handling technologies, to jointly market enzymatic degumming of vegetable oils using Verenium's Purifine PLC enzyme and Alfa Laval's engineering services and equipment. Purifine enzymatic degumming is a novel process that significantly increases yields in edible oil production and can have additional benefits in refining the Purifine-degummed oil. Use of Purifine enzymatic degumming also enhances yields of biodiesel from crude oil.

About Purifine
Verenium's patented and novel Purifine enzyme facilitates improved operating efficiency and reduction in byproducts by allowing a higher percentage of the crude vegetable oil extracted from seeds to be recovered and converted into edible oil or biodiesel. In conventional processing phospholipid impurities are removed as emulsified gums with an associated oil yield loss. Purifine enzyme works by reacting with the phospholipids releasing both the oil entrained in the gum and the oil-component of the phospholipids. Compared to other degumming methods, oil yield losses are reduced by up to 75% using Purifine enzymatic degumming, depending on the phospholipid content of the oil. Purifine PLC also offers significant benefits to the refining process by improving operating efficiency, and reducing the need for harsh chemicals and other processing aids.

*****
Entire Article Here,
http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayReleaseContent.aspx?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/03-24-2009/0004993538&EDATE=
*****
So add "Unique Degumming Method" and BioDiesel Creating Organism to the SkunK list of [possible] GreenShift's "entire portfolio of new cleantech".

SkunK

Bring on E-13!

The SkunK has called before for an immediate increase in the allowed percentage of Ethanol from 10 to 13%. Here is some more information that shows this could and should happen.
******
No problems found in study of E20's effects on cars

Research by Minnesota State Mankato's MnCAR
2009-03-23
By Dan Linehan, Free Press Staff Writer
[published in The Free Press, Mankato, MN, 3/23/2009]

The fruits, so far, of a $497,000 grant to Minnesota State University to study ethanol: A 20 percent blend appears to be no harder on vehicles than regular gasoline. The study, led by Bruce Jones and Jim Rife in MSU’s automotive engineering technology department, has tested the effects of differ­ent blends of ethanol on the raw materials of a vehicle as well as fuel system parts.

Today all gas sold in Minnesota includes 10 per­cent ethanol. Some gas is 85 percent ethanol ( called E85). It’s the intermediate blends — between 10 per­cent and 85 percent — that MSU is studying.

It’s using regular vehi­cles, not the “flex fuel” mod­els specifically designed to run on high ethanol blends. Jones said research into the 20 percent blend has just been completed. Tests on raw materials — the metals, plastics and rub­ber- like substances — found no problems with the E20 blend.

Likewise, fuel pumps using regular gasoline, E10 and E20 were run for 5,000 hours and there was no more wear and tear on the higher- ethanol blend. The research is being done to support a Minnesota proposal to move to a 20 percent blend in all gasoline by 2012.

The E20 move will only happen if the Environmental Protection Agency accepts it, car manufacturers include it in their warranties, and it doesn’t make vehicles perform worse or damage them.

Some of these questions will be answered by MSU’s work, others have been doled out to different labs by the Department of Energy.

Long-term, Jones said the move to E20 will help the transition from corn-based ethanol to so- called “cellu­losic” ethanol, which can use much more of a plant for fuel and is more efficient.
Most of the research on cellulosic ethanol is done by corn ethanol producers, he said, so creating a market for corn ethanol helps create a market for all ethanol.

“It doesn’t really matter where the ethanol comes from,” Jones said. It’s the same chemical formula, and “the engine doesn’t really care.”

Plus, “most experts in ethanol would agree that the first step in cellulosic ethanol appears to be corn cobs,” he said. Ethanol is now produced from corn kernels — the small yellow parts — not the cob, the hard cylindrical core.

“I think of it as a stepping stone,” Jones said of corn-­based ethanol.
Full article here:
http://www.mnsu.edu/news/read/?id=1237818921&paper=topstories
*******
SkunK Note: Remember the EPA can change the authorized limit of ethanol in gasoline to 11, 12 or even 13% with just the issuing of a new regulation. It is only when you get a substantial change (15-20%) that you need all these studies. We could increase the ethanol market by 30% with a stroke of a bureaucrat's pen. Notice the blue highlighted text above. This reinforces GreenShifts position that supporting today's corn ethanol infrastructure and incremental shifts in their efficiencies are the key to movement forward. Corn ethanol plants and future cellulosic based fuels are not mutually exclusive, the first will evolve into the other.

Renewable Fuels Standards Policy updates (by state)
http://www.dtnethanolcenter.com/index.cfm?show=10&mid=16&pid=1

SkunK

Monday, March 23, 2009

March 23rd CEOcast Weekly Newsletter

Greenshift (OTCBB: GERS)
a company that develops and commercializes clean technologies that facilitate the efficient use of natural resources, released a letter to shareholders last week providing operational updates and an outline of the company`s forward-looking strategic initiatives. The letter highlighted the company`s position at the intersection of the corn ethanol and biodiesel industries and its ability to extract 6.5 million gallons of corn oil from every 100 million gallons of corn ethanol produced, equating to a potential production of over 680 million gallons per year of inedible feedstock available for extraction and conversion into biodiesel worth an estimated $2 billion dollars.

The letter further outlined the potential impact of expected government initiatives aimed at spurring growth in the biofuels industry, and how they can better leverage the strategic value of their intellectual properties to achieve their goals. The letter can be found on the company`s website. Shares gained $0.0013 on the week to close at $0.0048.

A profile, description, or other mention of a company in the newsletter is neither an offer nor solicitation to buy or sell any securities mentioned. While we believe all sources of information to be factual and reliable, in no way do we represent or guarantee the accuracy thereof, nor the statements made herein. THE READER SHOULD VERIFY ALL CLAIMS AND DO ITS OWN DUE DILIGENCE BEFORE INVESTING IN ANY SECURITIES MENTIONED. This publication accepts compensation from companies that it features. This newsletter should not be regarded as an independent publication. Our editors may, from time to time, acquire positions in the companies that they cover. This could represent a conflict of interest. The CEOcast newsletter shall be under no obligation to inform readers about its trading activities. CEOcast`s editors reserve the right to buy or sell shares in these companies at any time. The following companies, featured in this newsletter, have compensated CEOcast: ////. . . GreenShift Corporation, seven thousand five hundred dollars per month and two million shares of stock for a six-month agreement.

Entire Article Here:
http://stockreads.com/Stock-Newsletter.aspx?id=8783

SkunK

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Portfolio of Clean Tech


The recent newsletter said we have developed an entire portfolio of cleantech. That was enough of an invitation for me to take a look at what technologies are out there that would fit our term Cellulosic Oil™ technology. "Cellulosic ethanol" is produced from wood, grasses, or the non-edible parts of plants. What if "Cellulosic oil" can be produced from DDGs or even a biodiesel byproduct like glycerin?

The SkunK does not know if Greenshift has any connection to the story below. However, Greenshift has connections to Montana and its University. The Culinary Oil Plant is in Montana. Dr. Miller (In Charge of the Montana Culinary Plant) is a Ph.D. chemist (Fall 2007) from the University of Montana. David L. Tooke, Ph.D. Director of Operations completed a Ph.D. in Geochemistry - University of Montana. Kalie J. Rider, RD. Nutrition Research and a Master’s in Environmental Studies at the University of Montana. David H. Bjornson, CPA, JD, LLM, Secretary, General Counsel has a B.A. degree in Business Administration and a J.D. degree (with honors) from the University of Montana. GreenShift Received a Grant for Algae Bioreactor Technology in January for $375,000 from the Montana Board of Research and Commercialization. http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/090105/20090105005487.html?.v=1
Well with all of those connections - lets look at what some folks at the University of Montana recently found and patented. . .

*****
Deep in the Jungle, A Fungus Pumps Out Diesel From Wood

A newly discovered tree fungus could be on its way to the gas station. The fungus, Gliocladium roseum, is able to turn plant matter into gaseous hydrocarbons that are almost chemically identical to diesel fuel. “This is the only organism that has ever been shown to produce such an important combination of fuel substances,” said researcher Gary Strobel from Montana State University. “The fungus can even make these diesel compounds from cellulose, which would make it a better source of biofuel than anything we use at the moment” .
*****
After discovering the new fungus wedged between cells in a stem from an Ulmo tree (Eucryphia cordifolia), Strobel and colleagues cultured the organism, collected the gaseous compounds it produced, and ran the compounds through a mass spectrometer to identify them. When he saw the printout, Strobel says, “every hair on my body stood up.” The list included octane, 1-octene, heptane, 2-methyl, and hexadecane–all common components of diesel fuels.
*****
Making biofuel from cellulose is a difficult two-step process that requires first breaking down the cellulose into simple sugars and then synthesizing the sugars into complex hydrocarbons. But G. roseum can do both, leading scientists to eye “myco-diesel” as a potential source of renewable energy. Stroble suggests, instead of using farmland to grow biofuels, G. roseum could be grown in factories, like baker’s yeast, and its gases siphoned off to be liquefied into fuel… Another alternative, he said, would be to strip out the enzyme-making genes from the fungus and use this to break down the cellulose to make the biodiesel.

Montana State University currently has a patent on the fungus.

Entire Article Here:

Wow! This is some pretty far out stuff. It does not sound like it is far enough along to be bench tested like our Cellulosic Oil™ technology. But I got a few more ideas I'm working on . . . Chemical, biological, mechanical . . . hmmm I wonder . . .

SkunK,

Saturday, March 21, 2009

If Not GE - Then Who??

Like an old matchmaker, the SkunK has been giving some thought as to who might be a financial suitor in GreenShift's future. I have no word on any tie between Greenshift and Shell Oil, however with all the talk in the recent Shareholder Letter of being like an oil company:

"Our business model is therefore more comparable to oil and gas than it is to
standard biofuels models since we own our own wellheads and we have hedged our refining margins."


And then you read in the article below that an oil company is like a biofuel company:

Shell said biofuels fitted its core business of providing fuels, logistics, trading and branding. Cook added: "It's now looking like bio­fuels is one which is closest to what we do in Shell.

Well all this got the SkunK a-thinking. Maybe Shell - Or maybe another deep pocket Oil Company will be our long range financial partner . . . In any case Shell is sending a Dear John letter to all the alternative energy crowd - except for our sweet biofuels . . .

********

Shell dumps wind, solar and hydro power in favour of biofuels
guardian.co.uk
Tuesday 17 March 2009 19.04 GMT

Shell will no longer invest in renewable technologies such as wind, solar and hydro power because they are not economic, the Anglo-Dutch oil company said today. It plans to invest more in biofuels which environmental groups blame for driving up food prices and deforestation .
Executives at its annual strategy presentation said Shell, already the world's largest buyer and blender of crop-based biofuels, would also invest an unspecified amount in developing a new generat­ion of biofuels which do not use food-based crops and are less harmful to the environment.

The company said it would concentrate on developing other cleaner ways of using fossil fuels, such as carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technology. It hoped to use CCS to reduce emissions from Shell's controversial and energy-intensive oil sands projects in northern Canada.

See Entire Article here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/mar/17/royaldutchshell-energy

SkunK

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Shareholder Letter

WOW! UP BIG. On BIG Volume. Biggest volume ever. Seems the market liked the new shareholder letter. Here is a nice clean copy now available on the web site.

http://www.greenshift.com/pdf/GERS_Shareholder_Letter_March_17_2009.pdf

After that huge day our technicals must be looking good. The technical Bot program at this site has GERS as a four star "BuY". Hope there is somthing to this since the resistance points are listed as Resistance1: 0.0564 Resistance2: 0.0900! Technically, it appears we have clear sailing to a ten-bagger. If it shoots straight to a nickel I'll become a true believer in technicals. LOL
http://www.allotcbb.com/quote.php?symbol=GERS.OB

Good Luck,
SkunK

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

EcoSystem Unveils MAGFUEL™

EcoSystem is now releasing information on their business. For those interested Investors please click on the symbol to the right to access a new SkunK information site.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

GreenShift Releases Shareholder Letter

The SkunK has listed a few highlights that caught his eye. Way below are some short SkunK comments and a link for the entire letter.

SkunK

Tue. March 17, 2009; Posted: 12:57 PM

Potential for Government Loan Guarantees
Fortunately, our entire 40 million gallon per year contracted extraction backlog is shovel-ready and is likely to be very qualified for Federal loan guarantees and other forms of public financing. President Obama and his staff have clearly stated positive policy goals for the biofuels industry. Secretary of Energy Chu has remarked that corn oil should be extracted for conversion into biofuel, and Secretary Vilsack, the head of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, has stated that increasing the corn ethanol blend ratio in gasoline is likely to put more biofuel on the streets more quickly than ethanol from non-corn sources. This concept, the speed in which the corn ethanol industry can be leveraged to affect change, is a central theme of our commercialization strategy.

Patents
We have a substantial investment in the development of this model and we have filed many novel patent applications with anticipated issuances beginning in 2009. Issued patents would enable us to rapidly acquire market share, cash flow and accretive assets that could be used to defray construction costs and lead times.

NEW TECH
We have also quietly developed an entire portfolio of new cleantech designed to leverage our existing extraction platform to shift the existing corn ethanol complex into increased financial and environmental sustainability. Bench tests conducted during 2008 with one of our new technologies, our patent-pending Cellulosic Oil(TM) process, demonstrated the potential to increase oil extraction yields to more than 10 million gallons for every 100 million gallons of corn ethanol produced. This technology is designed to cost-effectively produce and extract more oil by using our existing extraction assets while favorably impacting the nutritional qualities of the distillers grain ethanol co-product. Significantly, our patent-pending Cellulosic Oil(TM) technology is also designed to integrate with our extraction technologies into existing biodiesel plants. Additional information on Cellulosic Oil(TM) and the rest of our new technologies will be provided over the coming months.


GE DEAL
"This last item refers to investment agreements that were executed with GE Energy Financial Services and Yorkville Advisors in December 2008 for $38 million in equity financing after eight months of intensive due diligence and contract negotiations. Due diligence included an exhaustive review of our company, our management and our technologies, and rigorous and extensive performance tests of our extraction and biodiesel facilities to verify our yields and production efficiencies. We passed on all fronts and the technical merits of our technologies were firmly established. However, pressures induced by the stressed financial markets intervened and this financing was unexpectedly pulled earlier this month - almost a year after signing exclusive financing agreements that did not materialize."

http://www.greenshift.com/pdf/GERS_Shareholder_Letter_March_17_2009.pdf





Best Line in this Shareholder Letter:

"We are the best at what we do and we have the scars to prove it."

It appears some investors had started to mourn too early and those dang Leprechauns had begun their dance over an empty grave. Greenshift has taken some punches, but is still in the fight. . .

SkunK

Fulton Plant askes for Auction

Plant Could Be Auctioned
Northeast Biofuels asks for permission to sell facility
Thursday, March 12, 2009
For sale: one ethanol plant, barely used.
The management of Northeast Biofuels, a bankrupt ethanol plant in Volney, has asked a bankruptcy judge for permission to put the facility up for sale. If the judge approves, a sale could occur as early as April 17.
http://www.syracuse.com/poststandard/stories/index.ssf?/base/business-14/1236848134318820.xml&coll=1

*******
This is an interesting article - looking like members of the Board of Directors/Officers resigned to be able to bid on the plant. With present market conditions they may be able to buy at a huge discount and reduce the debt load. NorthEast Biofuels is located in Fulton NY and is about the 11th and 12th COES sheduled to be built according to the last information released. They are huge, with a capacity of 110mmgy. The argument with their builder about the piping system is in arbitration. Makes one wonder . . . .

SkunK

Monday, March 16, 2009

Ethanol plant having a gas

In the Article released this morning, the Janesville Gazette appears to be reporting on the Annual Meeting that the SkunK previously reported on. Milton has been on the list of new COES for some time. It is not clear if the company is passing on new information or the old schedule based on the now terminated GE financing deal. In any case, I found the city searching for permit requirements new and interesting. Also the 1.6mmgy expected production rather than the typical 1.3 or 1.5mmgy capacity levels was different. Milton has always called GreenShift the "Chicago based GS Clean Tech". I think that has a lot to do with Midwest psychology.

SkunK

Monday, March 16, 2009 • JANESVILLE, WI
Officials announced a new revenue source at the annual meeting. GS Clean Tech, Chicago, Ill., will begin building a corn oil extraction unit on the site in early summer. It plans to extract 1.6 million gallons of corn oil a year for biodiesel production, according to the news release.
The plant already sells carbon dioxide and wet and dry distiller's grain, byproducts of ethanol production.

Milton city staff will work with the plant to determine if any permits or approvals are necessary for the extraction unit, City Administrator Todd Schmidt said.

http://gazettextra.com/news/2009/mar/16/ethanol-plant-having-gas/

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Biodiesel Tail Spin

The Biodiesel Industry is in an accelerated tailspin around the world.
High Feedstock costs. Low Diesel Prices. Rick Kment, a biofuels analyst with market researcher DTN, said U.S. biodiesel production is down to between 25 percent and 30 percent of capacity. The soy plants that have not shut down appear to be crushing the oil and then selling the soy oil into the food markets. Large US biodiesel producers still operating have been selling into the higher margin European markets. This likely stopped Friday when the EU put two large punitive duties on the US imports for four months. This was in reaction to the US $1/gallon blenders credit. The blenders credit goes to the blender and most may not even get to the producers. Those that survive this biodiesel "depression" will enjoy an expanding market driven by mandates and an increasing price of crude. When Greenshift releases their plan "B" after the recent termination of the GE deal, a key will be if they are able to convince investors that they will be one of the survivors. Securing financing & confirming production numbers have always been important to the SkunK. In these tough times investors need to see enough of both to be assured of GreenShift's Survival.

Good Luck to Investors
SkunK
*********
AMERICA
March 6th, 2009
Biodiesel Takes Another Body Blow
So, how bad off is the industry? Banking-sector, or government-bailout bad? Maybe. As the economy slumped last year, demand for diesel dropped with it. That sent the price of petroleum diesel and biodiesel down so low that manufacturers now can barely cover production costs, let alone capital costs. And profits? Forget it
http://earth2tech.com/2009/03/06/biodiesel-takes-another-body-blow/
**********
European Union
March 12, 2009
EU Imposes Duties On Biodiesel Imported From US
BRUSSELS -(Dow Jones)- The European Union Thursday announced steep duties on biodiesel imported from the U.S., saying a subsidy the U.S. government gives to its biodiesel companies is bringing financial ruin to producers in the E.U. Starting Friday, the 27-member bloc will impose two types of duties, one to counter the government subsidy and one for dumping the product at unfairly low prices onto the E.U. market, according to announcements in the Official Journal of the E.U.The duties will last four months while the European Commission, the E.U.'s executive arm, determines if multiyear duties are necessary, the Commission said.
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200903121213DOWJONESDJONLINE000858_FORTUNE5.htm
***************
ASIA
March 3, 2009 09:14 AM
Asia's biofuel dreams shelved as crude oil tumbles
Hopes of a biofuel bonanza for Southeast Asia, raised when sky-high oil prices made the search for alternative fuels a priority, have been shelved as global fortunes and crude prices nose-dive.Back when movie stars won plaudits for driving hybrid cars, and grains and oils were going cheap, regional governments grew excited over producing biofuel to lower energy costs and soak up agricultural stockpiles.Malaysia and Indonesia, which produce most of the world's palm oil, heavily promoted their version of biofuel -- a mixture of diesel with five percent processed palm oil.But the excitement evaporated as crude oil, which peaked at 147 dollars in July 2008, fell to current levels below 37 dollars.
http://www.enn.com/energy/article/39406

Monday, March 9, 2009

Section 4 (2) of Securities Act of 1933

The ol'SkunK has said in his disclaimers he is neither a stock broker or a metal health professional. He will now tell you he is also not a securities lawyer. I was curious what the section4(2) reference was about so I just posted section 4(2) and an outline of the exempted section 5. More detail in the links.

Although not listed, the SkunK believes this 8-K refers to the Securities Act of 1933.
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1269127/000126912709000010/gers8k3609-2.txt

"The issuances were exempt from registration under Section 5 of the Securities Act by reason of Section 4(2) of said Act, as the investors were sophisticated, were given access to information about GreenShift, and had taken the securities for investment. There were no underwriters."

Section 4 -- Exempted Transactions
The provisions of section 5 shall not apply to--
2. transactions by an issuer not involving any public offering.
http://www.law.uc.edu/CCL/33Act/sec4.html

Section 5 -- Prohibitions Relating to Interstate Commerce and the Mails
a. Sale or delivery after sale of unregistered securities
b. Necessity of prospectus meeting requirements of section 10
c. Necessity of filing registration statement
http://www.law.uc.edu/CCL/33Act/sec5.html

SkunK Roundup -
Since the investors who converted their debentures into common shares did not get them through a public offering, they did not have to file a registration statement.

Good Luck,
SkunK

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Two Tracks to Three Investors

So who were these three separate, sophisticated investors who converted their Debentures into +55M shares since the start of the year? Well, there is no way for an outsider to know for sure. Why should that stop me? I'll just fire up this logic train and you'll be free like always to get off at any station on the line. I got two separate tracks running in different directions myself. . .

"The 55,211,905 shares were issued in separate transactions with three investors,each of whom exercised its right to convert derivative securities issued by GreenShift in prior periods."
ALSO
". . , as the investors were sophisticated, were given access to information about GreenShift,and had taken the securities for investment. There were no underwriters."
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1269127/000126912709000010/gers8k3609-2.txt

******
Here is my first guess:
From the 3Q. Although we see no names - notice the last two sentences. The amount is in the ball park and the 1 Jan '09 date is right on. No sign of lender conversion options or procedures other than the implied "missed payments". It says a "series" of convertible notes, which could mean 3 or more - so that matches up with possible three investors. The dollar amount is a little high - but it could have been five investors and only three decided to convert?

CONVERTIBLE NOTES
On September 4, 2008, the Company's subsidiary, GS CleanTech Corporation, entered into a series of convertible notes totaling $1,734,579. The notes shall bear interest at a rate 15% per annum and mature on December 31, 2010. Commencing on February 1, 2009, payments are due at a rate equal to the greater of the interest accrued on the unpaid principal or $100,000 times the principal amount divided by $3,000,000. Beginning July 1, 2009, payments are due based on an eighteen month amortization, with all principal and accrued interest paid on or before December 31, 2010. The notes are convertible into shares of GS CleanTech subsidiary preferred stock (par $0.001) at the closing by GS CleanTech of a planned Preferred Stock Financing at a 15% discount to the final terms of any such Preferred Stock Financing. If any portion of the note is prepaid in cash, GS CleanTech shall pay a 10% redemption premium at the time of redemption. If the Preferred Stock Financing does not close on or before January 1, 2009, the interest and redemption premium will increase to 20%. The balance of the loans was $1,734,579 as of September 30, 2008.

*******
Well here is my second best guess:

1. Acutus Capital LLC $750,000 3Q '08
2. Serenity Capital, LLC $211,523 + $11,667 interest 07'Annual
3. Cyrus Capital, LLC ... $100,000 07'Annual

Acutus Capital: The CD was listed as $500,000 in 2Q, $750,000 in 3Q. Acutus Capital, L.L.C controlled by: James L. Sonageri, 411 Hachensack Ave. NJ. As late as January '08 his office received copies of loan agreement notices for GS Agrifuels. Earlier he is listed as a Senior Vice President and General Counsel for GS Clean Tech. The site below has him as a Super Lawyer.
http://www.superlawyers.com/new-jersey/lawyer/James-L-Sonageri/7c4da3b1-cbac-4856-b986-0c5acbb16cf5.html
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1102414/000110241404000005/telco13dacutus.txt
{Thanks to a reader - Lagenorhynchus Acutus is a deepwater Atlantic white-sided dolphin species which ranges across the North Atlantic from Long Island to Norway. "Acutus" means "sharp" or "pointed" (Latin)}

Serenity Capital, LLC ('07 Annual)
As of December 31, 2006, the principal amount due on the debenture was $211,523. Interest is accrued at a rate of 5% on the principal balance. As of December 31,2006, $11,667 of interest is accrued on this debenture. Serenity is owned by a family member of the Company's chairman. (Lawrence, CEO's Father)
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1269127/000126912707000046/gsct10k06.txt

Cyrus Capital, LLC ('07 Annual)
As of December 31, 2006, principal amount due on the debenture was$100,000. Interest is accrued at a rate of 5% on the principal balance. As of December 31, 2006, $4,644 of interest is accrued on this debenture. Cyrus is owned by a family member of the Company's chairman. (Scott, CEO's Brother)
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1269127/000126912707000046/gsct10k06.txt

Am I sure? No. These are the only single investor CDs (still open) I can find going back to the '07 Annual. These could have been paid and another investor came in. I could have missed something. In any case, the real questions are:
1. Will this money now be reinvested in the company using new CDs or loans and get that Riga COEs up and running? The dollar amount raised is very close to what was needed to pay the construction debts.
2. Are these investors through selling. Will any shares left (if any) be sold into Monday's post GE deal market?
3. How much of the loss of the GE deal is already worked into the market price? From a trading high of .08 on Dec 17th to the half sent of our last close - The market has worked some of it into the price. Monday and Tuesday we find out how much.


The chart shows about $1,110,087 owed before conversion on these three CDs. 55,211,905 shares were converted. $1,110,087/55,211,905 = 2 cents/share.

SkunK "Extra Detailed Note for Knuckleheads"

I originally just said (see the 07A for details) - I had hoped those who wanted more detail would use my reference to get it. But I just went back into the A'07 and posted more details to keep the knuckleheads from jumping to conclusions. (Too late! lol)

"The debenture is convertible at the lesser of $0.02 or 80% of the average closing market price of the Company's common stock prior to the date of conversion."

I 'trust' that is simpler. Even if the closing price was 2-3 cents, as it was 9 out of the 20 trading days in January when (we can see by the volume) they were converted, the AVERAGE price of at least the three investors conversions on different days could easily been converted for about .02 cents - because of the terms of the conversion. NOTICE it is not a series of days before where we take an average. The conversion is based on the close of the day prior. These terms of conversion are for Serenity and Cyrus. The terms of conversion for Acutus were not published that I can see. Three days closed in January at .024 - which times 80% is almost .02. Wow - Close Enough for you?? January opened with a high of .03 and low close at .013.

General Note Just to Knuckleheads: If you want "all" the information, then read the primary sources. The SEC filings, the Articles, the Press Releases. I normally will even give you a link. I read all that and normally either reference a sample from the start or pick portions to make a point. Although I have done it a few times - It is not "cricket" to post entire articles. As intellectual property one owes the writer the posting of their link so that you will visit their site. I occasionally remind my readers to do it with my material. When I lead you to a link it is not because I am trying to keep you from using it or trying to hide the information in the link. I guess that is obvious to some but not to others. lol

One more thing. I keep a comment section for guests. This blog is my house on the net. You are my honored guests in my house. As long as you act like one. No freedom of incivility in my house. On this site I am the Benevolent SkunK King.

*******
Any case just gave you two ideas to run with.

If you repost this DD - don't forget my linK.

SkunK

Saturday, March 7, 2009

GreenShift Updates Web Site

The following changes seem new to the SkunK:

New 1Q '09 Investor Kit (Minus GE deal) Although GE deal is still in the Press Room, Next Diesel, corn oil extraction and President Carroll's bio.
http://www.greenshift.com/pdf/GS_Investor_Kit_Q1_2009.pdf

Old 3Q '08 Investor Kit
http://www.greenshift.com/pdf/Q3_2008_Investor_Kit.pdf

Production Facilities
"We are building a number of smaller, distributed facilities that we intend to scale over time as market conditions warrant. "

SkunK

Friday, March 6, 2009

Mr. Kreisler on the 8-K

The SkunK sent the following email and this is the response he received from Mr. Kreisler:

Skunk wrote:
Mr. Kreisler, Can you comment on today's 8-K and where Greenshift goes from here?

Thank You,
SkunK

Mr Kreisler responded:
We have a plan; it will be communicated shortly.
We have already 'picked ourselves up and dusted ourselves off ...'
Where we go from here: up.


SALE OF EQUITY SECURITIES

UNREGISTERED SALE OF EQUITY SECURITIES
During the period from January 2009 through March 5, 2009 GreenShift issued 55,211,905 shares of its common stock. There are now 150,356,886 shares of common stock outstanding. The 55,211,905 shares were issued in separate transactions with three investors, each of whom exercised its right to convert derivative securities issued by GreenShift in prior periods. The issuances were exempt from registration under Section 5 of the Securities Act by reason of Section 4(2) of said Act, as the investors were sophisticated, were given access to information about GreenShift, and had taken the securities for investment. There were no underwriters.

SkunK

Termination

TERMINATION OF A MATERIAL DEFINITIVE AGREEMENT

Although the Company is otherwise in compliance with the ECCA Agreement, the ECCA Agreement is terminated.

http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1269127/000126912709000008/gers8k3609.txt

SkunK

Milton WI COES UPDATE

****SkunK NEWS FLASH****



Investors at the 2 March Annual Meeting for the Ethanol Plant in Milton, Wi recently learned the following information:

“A contract has been signed, and GS Clean Tech, Chicago, Ill., will begin building a corn oil extraction unit in early summer and hopefully have it up and running by early fall, baring any unforeseen hurdles.” This process will extract about 1.6 million gallons of corn oil for biodiesel production. In addition, it’s expected to enhance the marketability of DDG from United Ethanol. A lower-fat DDG can be fed to beef and dairy cattle in higher quantities."
http://www.unitedethanol.com/index.cfm?show=10&mid=41
The SkunK has the initial tie-ins recorded as already complete in Milton. Milton is presently scheduled as the 10th COES and a commissioning by 30 September 2009.
SkunK

Thursday, March 5, 2009

CLEANBIOENERGY PARTNERS, LLC

We now have information on when the LLCs central to the GE financing deal were created. I am sure some clever dude will be looking for the Higgs boson at this Delaware site - but so far it tells the SkunK this deal was brewing for a couple months before the 8-K information was released in December. Thanks to a reader for this kool tip:

Here is:
CLEANBIOENERGY PARTNERS, LLC
Delaware Incorporation 09/24/2008
File number: 4604150

GS (NEXTDIESEL I) LLC
Delaware Incorporation 10/01/2008
File Number 4607480

GS COES (ADRIAN I), LLC
Delaware Incorporation 10/01/2008
File Number 4607483

Just go to the link below and copy/paste the name of the LLC in as I have it or use the file number.
https://sos-res.state.de.us/tin/GINameSearch.jsp

*********
And please don't lay an egg when you see this:
"THIS IS NOT A STATEMENT OF GOOD STANDING"
they all say that - put in a file number at random and check it out. lol

SkunK

Restructuring?

So what exactly was in the EQUITY CAPITAL CONTRIBUTION AGREEMENT that was signed nearly three months ago - and we anxiously await the outcome? The SkunK doesn't know. However, lets see what we can gleam from the tidbits we have.

Restructuring

I suspect that the GE number crunchers said GreenShift needed to do certain things to GERS structure before they received the GE/CBE investment. These are some things I suspect could be happening:

1. Reduce Overhead. GreenShift Corporation had 124 full-time employees as of March 31, 2008. With the 26 or so at NextDiesel, that makes 150 employees. With even a $40,000 average cost per employee that runs $6M/year. You need a specialized crew to supervise the construction of, and pull higher echelon maintenance on the COES. You need a NextDiesel Crew when the market dictates you can operate at a profit. You need administrative, executive/sales support. The SkunK thinks you can operate the core of this company with less than 50 employees.

2. Downsize/Contract Out. Greenshift has acknowledged for months that 3rd party Biodiesel sales have all but stopped. With 75% of Biodiesel plants now idle, and the credit markets crippled, biodiesel building is frozen. Why build when you can buy a biodiesel plant for pennies on the dollar at auction? Why carry biodiesel builders on the roles when they are idle? Is GS Design - gone? If not - (and nobody asked this question) why did we contract out the significant portion of the Riga construction to local companies? SkunK surmises that the Ohio GS Design facilities may be going or gone. Anything that does not directly relate to the COES or Biodiesel I think has been looked at carefully as to whether it is forwarding or dragging on the critical COES mission.

3. Cash Flow. This is a real stinker. In order to do a deal you have to show that cash flow will cover costs at some point. With little to no margins in the biodiesel industry; with the NextDiesel plant slowed or idled; you have to take a step into the future to see the cash flow. You have to project market conditions where the biodiesel industry makes money.

Will GE make this Good Idea come to Light??
We should know shortly,


This is speculation based on my opinion. I suspect 99.9% of you will have (at the very least) a slightly different opinion. I suspect 99.9% of you understand and are secure enough to handle that. lol

Good Luck to all investors.
SkunK

Monday, March 2, 2009

NEWS FLASH - CIE COES


NEWS FLASH!
CIE (Central Indiana Ethanol) the third Operational COES (in Marion) is operational and running. It is reported to be producing at about 1.3mmgy. This information was posted this morning on their web site.
My Source's Source
http://www.indianaprairiefarmer.com/

Miss Manners says: "If you repost this DD, include this link"
http://greenshift-gers.blogspot.com/

More as I get it,
SkunK

Is Something UP? New Buyers?

Total share volume came in at 50.3M for February. UBSS maintained its share volume (for the first time is the volume leader at 39%!) and Knight fell from 51% to 33%. So did UBSS win at Knight's Expense? NO! UBSS merely maintained its 39% share volume and others picked up market share from Knight. Last month UBSS and Knight's combined total was 72% compared to 90% the month before. The surprising story this month is that 12% total volume moved from Knight to these Market Makers:

HILL (Hill, Thompson, Magid and Co.) 3,977,788 shares in February - Have traded 670K shares in the last 14 months. Then almost 4M in February? - since they likely did not accumulate enough shares to sell 4M - the SkunK concludes they are likely buying . From always one or less than one percent - to 7% of total volume in February.
http://www.hillthompson.com/Default.aspx

ICAP Corporates LLC (GARC) 2,549,000 shares in February - NEVER purchased a share before - the SkunK concludes they are likely buying - 5% of total volume in February.
http://www.icap.com/ ************
Not to insult the reader, but obviously other things could account for these new market maker players. Here are just a few of them: Companies and people switch brokerage firms, brokerage firms switch market makers and stock gets transferred as the accounts move. Old players who have accumulated stock through the company, outside the normal trade routes, may be just now starting to sell. As I stated - the SkunK believes the most likely scenario is these two MMs represent new buyer(s). Like always - I encourage you to use this dd and draw your own conclusion.
http://www.otcbb.com/asp/tradeact_mv.asp?SearchBy=issue&Issue=GERS&SortBy=volume&Month=2-1-2009&IMAGE1.x=24&IMAGE1.y=8

Good Hunting,
SkunK

Sunday, March 1, 2009

What A WEEK Ahead!

We are certainly headed for an interesting week in GERS land. The extension for the financing deal is set for Monday. Prior experience has shown that we can expect information as early as Monday: Just before lunch or more likely after the close. Monday would suggest - but not guarantee - good news.

We could just as easily hear something by Wednesday - or even as late as Friday. This could be either good or bad - depending on the outcome of any final negotiations.

We should hear one of three things:
1. CBE/GE Deal closed.
2. CBE/GE Deal did not close and here is plan "B".
3. CBE/GE Deal did not close.

Do you think that the GE deal will close? Look in your brokerage account over the last 30 days. I suspect if you see mostly GERS buys - you see a decent chance we will close. If you have sold -then you think it not closing. Holds suggest you are looking for a plan "B". You didn't know the SkunK knew what you were thinking - did you?

SkunK thoughts?
The price will not stay where it is. It may move up or down in big chunks dependent on the news next week. The overall market is hitting new lows. Comparisons to the 1930's are everywhere. The Biodiesel industry is AT LEAST 75% idle. NO ONE that I can find is making money making biodiesel. If GERS can somehow survive this period with little or no cash flow - and emerge on the other side - with its operation inact or even larger - they will have a tremendous future. I think they need a cash infusion of some kind to make it.
********
Last Friday was the lowest volume day of the month. Here is the SkunK's rough estimate for the OS numbers as of today. We had just over 50M shares traded in February, not counting the after market trades. We should get the total on Monday. I took the 50.3M shares traded and added 8% to (more than) account for after market trades, then multiplied by 70% to get my 38M dilution estimate for the month. Larger version on the link below:

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dgzzx2hv_45gx7bnqdf

Conspiracy Theories - The X-SkunK files

What is GERS land without a fresh conspiracy theory? The SkunK has known for a while now that there has been a "concerted campaign" to get my blog off the net. The campaign intensified when I released the blog "numbers" at the start of the year. Apparently they were big enough to require action. Without going into detail about the many facets of this campaign, the most recent and obvious to the reader is at least one major message board was convinced to delete messages with this blog's link. Which one? Post my link on each and find out. Dang, I knew I should have taken up horseshoes! LOL - Hope to share more later. . . . .

Good Luck to all Investors

SkunK

 
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