More stories from Katie Fehrenbacher

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With so many venture-backed startups looking to build solar thermal power plants in the U.S. desert, we thought it would be interesting to hear from one of the more well-established — and well-capitalized — players. Abengoa Solar is the solar arm of the decades-old Spanish renewable […] Read more »

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The California Public Utilities Commission has approved what it says is the first utility-scale thin-film solar project to be built in California, in a contract between utility Southern California Edison and thin-film solar maker First Solar. The contract is for a 7.5 megawatt solar facility, with […] Read more »

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The small-scale solar thermal startup Sopogy, which we reported just raised $9 million from investors including the investment vehicle of eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, Ohana Holdings, says that it started construction on one of its solar power farms on Hawaii’s Big Island at the Natural Energy […] Read more »

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The 10 next-generation biofuel startups that got funded last quarter were 10 of the reasons that cleantech venture investments hit a recent record. But how well are all these biofuel startups going to do in the market? We’re not sure, but Martin Tobias, angel investor and […] Read more »

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For any entrepreneur that’s lived through a vicious feud between a startup’s original team members, here’s a must-read for you. Our buddy Michael Copeland over at Fortune just wrote a sweeping piece on the dispute that went down between the founder and former CEO of electric […] Read more »

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SunPower said this morning that it’s scored a sunny deal in the Sunshine state. The solar cell maker will build those two massive solar photovoltaic power plants that Florida Power & Light Co. (FPL) has in the works (and we wrote about here). SunPower (SPWR) will […] Read more »

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We’ve been waiting awhile for the coming revolution of both fuel cell-powered devices and those tiny computers called “ultra-mobile PCs.” Well, now we can wait a bit more for a gadget with both of those future-forward designs in one. This morning, fuel cell maker MTI Micro […] Read more »

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I’m officially a friend of the famed oil baron-turned wind developer T. Boone Pickens…on Facebook and MySpace. I’ve also hopped onto his Twitter feed, joined his Ning-powered social network, and asked for a connection on LinkedIn. Now I’m just waiting to hear his last.fm play list […] Read more »

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On the heels of Intel’s announcement that it had spun out and funded a solar startup doing “advanced solar cell technology” called SpectraWatt, Intel says it has invested €24 million (or $37.5 million) into German thin-film solar module maker Sulfurcell. Sulfurcell makes thin-film solar modules out […] Read more »

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T. Boone Pickens laid out his grand ‘Pickens Plan’ on Tuesday (accompanied by a Web 2.0 media blitz) with the suggestion that natural gas could provide over a third of U.S. transportation fuels. While natural gas vehicles (NGVs) have been used for awhile in city-owned car […] Read more »

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The most recent quarterly cleantech investing numbers are out from the Cleantech Group, and they contain some upbeat news: Investing in saving the Earth doesn’t stop when the economy drops — at least it hasn’t so far. According to the Cleantech Group, the second quarter of […] Read more »

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When we first learned about solar-cell maker Blue Square Energy at last year’s Dow Jones Alternative Energy conference, the Maryland-based startup was listed in the conference category as “Raising Money Now.” Looks like they may have jumped the gun a bit, according to a post on […] Read more »

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Some of you might remember the beleaguered company Planktos, which was looking to fertilize the world’s oceans with iron in an attempt to stimulate phytoplankton blooms and reduce carbon emissions. Come on, you remember — its dreams went dead in the water back in February due […] Read more »

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Given the state of the antiquated power grid, there are dozens of options that will help the grid get smarter. One of those tech choices is wireless mesh networking, which can intelligently route information to and from distant meters in an efficient manner and is an […] Read more »

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According to several reports, Toyota’s next-generation Prius, due out next year, will have the option for solar panels on its roof. Japanese newspaper Nikkei and Reuters are reporting that Kyocera will provide the solar panels, which would be able to power part of the 2- to […] Read more »

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While we were all out watching fireworks and flipping burgers on the on our nation’s Independence Day, solar installer SolarCity quietly turned 2. The startup’s birthday also came in a week when San Francisco began offering residents rebates — $3,000 to $6,000 per solar power system […] Read more »

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Investors are increasingly placing their funds in large waste recycling operations. Last month, it was Kleiner Perkins and Index Ventures investing $34.5 million in 5-year-old scrap tire recycling company Lehigh Technologies. This morning, Virgin Green Fund and Masdar Clean Tech Fund say they have completed the […] Read more »

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The biofuel industry couldn’t catch a break, even over the three-day summer weekend. The BBQ-chatter fodder? An article in the Guardian citing a “leaked” World Bank report that says biofuels have driven up the price of food by 75 percent. That’s an absolutely massive number compared […] Read more »

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Tesla to Build the “Model S” Electric Sedan Back in California: Tesla named its “WhiteStar” electric sedan “Model S” and is planning to manufacture the car back in Cali near its headquarters. Where’s the Solar Stock Rally?: Wading into the solar sector is like dating a […] Read more »

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Miasole Raising $200M, $1.2B Valuation?: VentureWire reports that the thin film solar company is looking to raise between $200 and $220 million, at a valuation of $1.2 billion. That’s a little more than half of what Nanosolar was reported to be valued at. — VentureWire via […] Read more »

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While the opposition to building new coal plants continues to grow, perhaps we should also add a lesser-known villain to the climate change culprit list: flat-screen TVs. Research is being conducted by Professor Michael Prather on a greenhouse gas called nitrogen trifluoride that’s used to make […] Read more »

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While solar projects are getting slated for the deserts of California and Arizona, New Mexico’s four largest utilities have done a public shout out to bring in a very large solar project to their state. El Paso Electric, Public Service Company of New Mexico, Xcel Energy […] Read more »

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Eco-Fireworks for the Fourth: Fireworks can get a lot less toxic for the earth, but don’t expect that to be a good selling point for fireworks fans — ScienceDaily. ETN for Carbon Emissions: Barclay launched the “first exchange traded note that tracks the global carbon emission […] Read more »

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Looks like the Bureau of Land Management didn’t like all the public outcry over their moratorium on new solar projects built on public land. (A prominent New York Times article can have that effect). The Bureau said today that it has reversed that previous decision, and […] Read more »

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Another hydrogen-based fuel cell company has brought in cash, and unlike the physics-defying BlackLight, this one’s tech is already getting tested in some big deals. Intelligent Energy said this morning that it has raised $13.6 million to help it get its hydrogen fuel cells closer to […] Read more »

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Who needs physics when there’s money to be made? The race to discover clean energy breakthroughs is seeing its fair share of cold fusion style ideas — oh-so-much promise, but a looming gap between enthusiasm and scientific reality. In the case of BlackLight Power, a 19-year […] Read more »

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Is McCain the John Kerry of energy? News reports this week are essentially calling him a flip-flopper when it comes to his energy record and policy. The Los Angeles Times and Bloomberg say the presidential candidate has had varying stances on offshore oil drilling, clean energy […] Read more »

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While last quarter, not a single venture-backed company hit the public markets, today’s IPO of energy-efficient water desalination company Energy Recovery could be a sign of better things to come. (Alarm Clock sure thinks so; it’s like Christmas morning over there.) This morning, 14 million shares […] Read more »

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Are Brazilian Biofuels the Answer to High Gas Prices?: The U.S. slaps a $0.54 per gallon tariff on Brazilian ethanol. Brazilian biofuel makers and U.S. Senator Richard Lugar say if the tariff comes off, cheap Brazilian ethanol can help with U.S. drivers’ gas price sticker shock […] Read more »

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Thin-film solar technology, or thin layers of photovoltaics that can be printed onto flexible surfaces, will make up 28 percent of the solar market by 2012, says a report out this morning from Lux Research. Thin-film solar technology, which is being developed with materials like amorphous […] Read more »

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Stop the presses! It’s Tuesday morning and we love the Onion, so we feel obliged to point out this ridiculously awesome list of biofuel products in the Onion’s Obligatory Green Issue (the list is an oldie but a goodie). “Mentholanol” could get scarce if this legislation […] Read more »

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Today‘s the first day that San Francisco residents can start applying for those thousands of dollars in rebates for their rooftop solar systems through one of the country’s most aggressive municipal solar programs. Residents can apply for the incentives of between $3,000 and $6,000 and businesses […] Read more »

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Tesla wasn’t the only cleantech startup with big news about manufacturing on Monday; solar thermal startup Ausra said yesterday that it had turned on the reflector line at its Las Vegas solar equipment manufacturing facility. And like at Tesla’s media event, which was attended by California’s […] Read more »

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Another Weak Point for Biofuels, Weather: “The nation’s increasing dependence on crops for motor fuel adds another level of vulnerability from the weather.” — New York Times. Wind Too Reliable for British Power?: A report funded by the Renewable Energy Foundation and printed in the journal […] Read more »

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It’s official: Tesla Motors has named its electric sedan (codename WhiteStar) the “Model S” and the company says it has decided to bring the manufacturing of its vehicle back to California. We just got out of a press conference at Tesla Motors headquarters in San Carlos, […] Read more »

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Former Intel Chairman Andy Grove says the grassroots plug-in hybrid vehicle movement is like the 1970s-era Northern California Homebrew Computer Clubs that paved the way for the personal computer. The way the early PC-hobbyists kick-started the personal computing movement, plug-in conversion shops will similarly be able […] Read more »

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Novomer, a startup that uses recycled carbon dioxide to make polymers and plastics, said this morning it has started selling its first product: the unsexy-sounding “NB-180,” made from a little less than half carbon dioxide. NB-180 is a class of products called sacrificial binders, which are […] Read more »

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Update: Tesla has decided to manufacture its electric sedan, newly named “Model S,” in California. We attended the press event and got the details from Governor Schwarzenegger, Treasure Bill Lockyer, and Tesla execs Ze’ev Drori and Elon Musk. Read all about it here. Tesla just sent […] Read more »

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Looks like venture capitalists’ attempts to “go green” mean there are fewer venture-backed IPOs out there. Not a single venture-backed company went public in the second quarter of this year, says the New York Times this weekend, citing data from the National Venture Capital Association. And […] Read more »

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3 Out Of 4 U.S. Ethanol Plants At Risk Of Shutting Down: Close to three quarters of U.S. ethanol plants, or 123 of America’s 160 operating ethanol plants, are at risk of being shuttered in the coming months, according to Citigroup analyst David Driscoll. 10 Questions […] Read more »

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