The more than $4 billion allocated in the stimulus package for the smart grid will deliver a massive boost for information technology companies and utilities that want to add intelligence to the power grid. But the funds need to be spent in an effective way in […] Read more »
The debate over whether to use licensed or unlicensed wireless spectrum for mobile services has largely been limited to phone companies and wireless geeks (like me, in a former life). Licensed spectrum includes airwaves owned and regulated, like a cell phone firm, while unlicensed spectrum, like […] Read more »
In a cell phone market marked by fickle subscribers and competition from low-cost carriers, T-Mobile, the fourth-largest cell phone company in the U.S., has become the latest to tap the smart grid. This morning T-Mobile announced that it has developed a durable, tiny SIM card that […] Read more »
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How can T-Mobile, the fourth-largest cell phone carrier in the U.S., generate business in the face of dropping net additional subscribers and competition from low-cost cell phone companies? Get into the smart grid. Like AT&T and Verizon, T-Mobile is hoping to leverage its already built-out wireless […] Read more »
The single most important thing someone can do to reduce carbon emissions, beyond having a vote in Congress or a seat at the table in the upcoming Copenhagen talks, is to help prove the economics of fighting climate change, the 42nd U.S. President Bill Clinton told […] Read more »
While San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom (now candidate for California Governor) let slip that San Francisco was working on an environment-focused map at our Green:Net conference last month, the project is officially being announced today (yup, Earth Day). Developed by Cisco and San Francisco’s Department of […] Read more »
We’re partial to just joining up with Grist and saying, screw Earth Day, but since it’s unavoidably happening across the globe on Wednesday, we’ve decided to use the occasion to reflect on the state of greentech. We have a lot to cheer about in this moment […] Read more »
Earlier this year solar thermal startup Ausra cited a lack of financing as the reason for scaling back its plans to build massive solar power plants. The Mountain View, Calif.-based startup, which California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger once called “one of the best companies in California and […] Read more »
UPDATED: As automakers hash out electric vehicle charging standards, startups like Coulomb Technologies and Better Place are starting to install the charging infrastructure for electric vehicles in forward-thinking cities. But when it comes to something a little more, well, not standard, like Better Place’s planned battery […] Read more »
In the way that broadband networks have enabled the emergence of our favorite web apps like Google and Twitter, so the smart grid will create a network platform that will foster the development of a new generation of energy management applications. Florida utility FPL’s rollout of […] Read more »
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The smart grid is being touted as the Swiss army knife of cleantech — adding energy efficiency to the power grid, saving consumers money on energy bills, and creating jobs. That’s the way Florida utility FPL Group sees it, and today FPL, Cisco, GE, Silver Spring […] Read more »
As we all know, spam sucks. And here’s another reason to hate it: Spam uses 33 billion kWh and emits 17 million metric tons of carbon per year, according to a new report from computer security firm McAfee and carbon consulting group ICF International. That’s the […] Read more »
The recent report touting the carbon-heavy footprint of email spam could end up sending online do-gooders into a tizzy downloading the latest in anti-spam software. Yes, McAfee — the computer security company that issued the report along with carbon consulting firm ICF International — would like […] Read more »
A buildout of a smarter power grid in the U.S. could be one of the largest creators of wealth in the decade. According to the Edison Electric Institute, it’ll take at least $50 billion for all the investor-owned utilities (which make up 70 percent of the ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Whoa, algae fuel startup Sapphire Energy is more than a little confident of its production schedule. The company, which is working on squeezing green crude from algae for high-octane fuels and was just founded in 2007, said today that it is ramping up its production estimates […] Read more »
Looks like cell phone companies’ attempts to grab a piece of the smart grid market — potentially one of the biggest drivers of wealth in the next decade — are starting to pay off. This morning, Texas utility Texas-New Mexico Power (TNMP) says it will tap […] Read more »
Thanks to funds from the stimulus package and renewed attention to energy savings, 2009 is the year companies are planning to launch wireless energy dashboards that will sit in your home, monitor energy data from your electricity meter and let you know if you’re being an […] Read more »
When it comes to the warming of the planet, you never know how much of an effect a single, seemingly innocuous, policy can have on the big picture. Take attitudes toward birth control — it’s crass, but fewer people means less energy used. Well, here’s an […] Read more »
What’s a wireless company to do after betting big and failing on the muni Wi-Fi fad — the city-wide wireless that a couple years ago was supposed to offer consumers a cheaper wireless option than the phone and cable companies? What else: Go after the smart […] Read more »
April Fools’ Day is long gone, so PG&E’s latest blog post can’t be blamed on that: The Northern California utility just announced that it will be seeking approval from state regulators for a 200 MW power purchase agreement with Solaren, a company building solar panels in […] Read more »
There’s been a lot of people wondering how much authority Obama’s energy czar Carol Browner would wield. The administration created the new role to coordinate climate change and energy issues across divisions. Well, if comments from Congressman Edward Markey at an MIT conference on energy policy […] Read more »
A123Systems looks like it’s making its way through the haze of the downturn, despite that lost deal to supply batteries to GM’s ( s GM) Volt and a stalled IPO. The good news started last week when the lithium-ion battery maker announced a deal to supply […] Read more »
Wireless communication companies are particularly happy with all the attention focused on the smart grid, since wireless networks can be tapped to help both utilities and consumers monitor and control energy consumption. That will benefit firms that are building wireless sensor technology, too — and Monday […] Read more »
The ethanol biz is looking like one of the worst places to be stuck in the middle of the current economic storm. Last week ethanol maker Aventine Renewable Energy Holdings said it was suspending construction of a biorefinery in Aurora, Neb., and extending the construction schedule […] Read more »
Data center builders on the cutting edge of sustainability are increasingly turning to a low tech, widely available and free approach to cut cooling costs and energy consumption: outside air. On Thursday, the Green Grid, a trade group dedicated to reducing energy consumption in data centers, […] Read more »
When we asked you to imagine the damage Internet viruses and worms could do to the critical infrastructure of the power grid, it wasn’t an exercise in futility — it’s already happening. This morning the Wall Street Journal reports that hacker spies from countries like China […] Read more »
It’s a pretty basic project in concept — slap a solar panel on the top of an SUV and fill the car with computers and a fold-up tent, chairs and tables. But the rewards of the project, called the mobile solar computer classroom, are significant: teaching […] Read more »
Wireless communication companies are particularly thrilled by all the attention being paid to the smart grid these days, for while the stimulus package is allocating at least $4.5 billion towards the installation of 40 million smart meters, anything that helps to connect them to utilities will […] Read more »
Lately it seems like there’s more energy management tools coming to market over the next year than there are blockbuster movies due to hit the theaters this summer. And really, doesn’t monitoring your energy use sound like more fun than watching “Wolverine”? One-year-old startup EnergyHub, which […] Read more »
Spring has sprung and could be ushering in the very early beginnings of new growth in the cleantech world thanks to the stimulus package. And which sector will see a massive influx of spending and buildout? Well, the smart grid of course (tired of it yet?) […] Read more »
If T. Boone Pickens had it his way, not only would commercial trucks and enterprise fleets be run on natural gas, but potentially our consumer cars would, too — he’s been pushing natural gas powered vehicles as a solution to kicking the U.S.’s oil addiction for […] Read more »
Despite the fact that cleantech investment fell off a cliff in the first quarter of the year, talk of the “seeds of revival” (i.e. investment) is starting to creep back into both clean power projects and cleantech ventures thanks to the funds from the stimulus package. […] Read more »
The grand vision of small scale wind involves plunking tiny turbines (100 kilowatts or less according to the American Wind Energy Association) in backyards or on top of buildings in order to bring distributed clean power closer to the source that’s using it. Well, that’s the […] Read more »
Saul Griffith, the president and chief scientist of Makani Power and founder of WattzOn, gave a fantastic presentation at our Green:Net conference. We also sat down with him at the show to chat more about his projects: What has he learned from WattzOn users through managing […] Read more »
At our recentGreen:Net conference, we sat down with Google’s Tom Sly, who’s been working on the search engine giant’s energy information tool, PowerMeter. Google’s trying to make the PowerMeter available as fast as possible and best-case scenario is that it will be ready before the end […] Read more »
An interesting debate has been raging on a Google Groups forum over the validity of carbon-recycling, cement-producing startup Calera, points out the Cleantech Group’s blog. And it’s a carbon tongue twister that could confuse the children — as well as us. Backed by Vinod Khosla, Calera […] Read more »
One of the geekiest, yet often obsessed-about, aspects of Google’s innovations is its data centers. Up until recently, the company has been largely secretive about its data center technology and locations. But the search engine giant gave a rare glimpse today of how it’s using an […] Read more »
As expected, cleantech venture capital investing in the first quarter of 2009 looks as bad as Ugly Betty, with none of the charm. According to the Cleantech Group, worldwide cleantech venture investment in the first quarter of this year was $1 billion, which is a drop […] Read more »
It might be up for debate whether smart meters — electricity meters that provide real-time information about energy consumption and enable two-way communication between a utility and a consumer — will solve the U.S. power problem. But regardless, over the next couple of years an increasing […] Read more »
The news is out this morning that Google has officially announced its new venture capital arm (the venture fund has been reported over the last few months). Which sector is already hot on its radar? The smart grid, of course, just like that of every other […] Read more »
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