The laws of gravity do seem to apply to solar stocks, after all. After remaining one of the few sectors that was immune from the spreading turmoil and carnage caused by the credit crunch, an overwhelming wave of sell orders seemed to have swept aside the […] Read more »
Fat Spaniel Raises $3M More: VentureWire says solar management software and hardware startup Fat Spaniel has raised a $3 million bridge round, and raising $20 million for a Series B round — VentureBeat via VentureWire. Canadian Fund Props Up Hybrid Rail: One of Canada’s largest pension […] Read more »
If we end up stuck with corn subsidies built into the new Congressional farm bill, we might as well start looking at making corn ethanol production better. Towards that end, Syngenta said today the FDA has approved “bulk trials” of its new amylase-producing corn seed. Amylase, […] Read more »
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As Congress heads into the Thanksgiving recess, legislation is being streamlined for hasty passage. The Energy Bill, which was passed earlier this year in two very different forms by the House and Senate, is being trimmed down in the hopes that it will be voted on […] Read more »
He has the Nobel Peace Prize and an Academy Award for his eco-work, what more could the former Vice President do for green technology? Ah yes, help a Silicon Valley venture firm invest in it. The word is out this morning that Al Gore will join […] Read more »
A lot of oil companies are dead set against bioplastics, according to Trellis Earth CEO Bill Collins. Since plastics are largely made out of petroleum, many of the oil companies that own bioplastic IP won’t bring the plant-based technology to market, Collins contends. And that creates […] Read more »
Solar’s banner year on the stock market continued this week with thin-film solar cell manufacturer First Solar breaking the $200 barrier for the first time in its one-year stint on NASDAQ. First Solar (FSLR), which some have called the Google of solar, jumped more than 40 […] Read more »
Witness the jockeying between rival chipmakers Intel (INTC) and AMD (AMD) over whose chips are more energy-efficient, and it’s clear that power-saving chips are the future of the semiconductor industry. Intel is set to show off its latest line of 45-nanometer processors — code-named Penryn — […] Read more »
California filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency yesterday, seeking to force the agency to grant it a waiver so that it can enforce its own emissions standards. The Golden State plans to cut emissions back to 1990 levels by 2020 — a 25 percent […] Read more »
Wind energy company Iberdrola Renovables is slated to raise between $5.8 billion and $7.3 billion through its IPO on the Madrid Stock Exchange next month in what The Wall Street Journal calls “the world’s largest renewable-energy flotation.” Numbers like that are enough to make any energy […] Read more »
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The nonprofit American Solar Energy Society (ASES) released a report today with high hopes for job growth in clean technologies. The report predicts that as many as one in four, or 40 million, American workers will be employed in the renewable energy and energy efficiency (RE&EE) […] Read more »
Wal-Mart’s Current and Former Green Guru Speak: TreeHugger interviews former Wal-Mart sustainability leader Andy Ruben, and the man that has replaced him Matt Kissler — TreeHugger. NYT’s Business of Green: If you have a chunk of time on your hands (the weekend?) read over the New […] Read more »
Whether it is made using enzymes or thermochemicals, ethanol, the biofuel that has swiftly become a hot-button political issue, requires many steps to produce. And for each step of the process there are startups attempting to develop innovative technologies that bring down the cost of production. […] Read more »
A Senate subcommittee has approved legislation to put in place a cap-and-trade system for carbon dioxide. The New York Times and AP have detailed writeups. The cap-and-trade system would attach a cost to carbon emissions, internalizing the great externality of fossil fuel energy production that is […] Read more »
Ballard has found a buyer. The nearly three-decades-old forefather of the fuel cell industry, Ballard Power Systems (BLDP), says it has agreed to sell its automotive fuel cell business to Daimler (DAI) and Ford (F). Earlier this week the Vancouver, B.C.-based hydrogen fuel cell developer confirmed […] Read more »
Stop & Shop said today that it has been selected to participate in the U.S. Green Building Council Portfolio Program pilot for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) volume certification of existing buildings. The Quincy, Mass.-based grocer and its sister company, Giant Food of Landover, […] Read more »
First Solar Soars: “First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) is trading so well after-earnings that it might be thought of as “First Stellar,” with shares up 14% at $190.00 in after-hours trading — MarketWatch. Applied Invests in Plextronics: Plextronics, a Pittsburgh, Pa.-based startup developing organic semiconductors for thin film […] Read more »
You’d have to be a real drag to not think underwater robots are cool. OK, but what do they have to do with cleantech? We found a connection. Hydroid, for example, makes Remote Environmental Monitoring Units (REMUS), which can sniff out the source of pollution deep […] Read more »
Plastic production accounts for 4 percent of U.S. energy consumption, and plastic goods generate millions of tons of waste in landfills across the country each year. Talk about bad for the environment. With such an obvious need for greener plastics, it’s no wonder startups and industrial […] Read more »
Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.B) has announced that it will be expanding its collaboration with startup Codexis to further work on developing “new super enzymes” to convert biomass into fuel. Under terms of the five-year research collaboration, the oil giant will make an undisclosed equity investment in […] Read more »
New Earth makes the prettiest small-scale wind turbine on the market — its vertical-axis design uses a double helix to capture wind energy. And the San Diego-based startup is raising money to get its eye-catching product out there. New Earth CEO Ian Gardner tells us that […] Read more »
Michael Shellenberger started the discussion by explaining, “We didn’t say that environmentalism is dead. We are saying that environmentalism should die.” Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus, co-authors of the now infamous “The Death of Environmentalism,” essay, are promoting its literary expansion, a book entitled “Break Through.” I […] Read more »
Massachusetts Going Biofuel-Friendly: A Massachusetts legislative package proposes mandates and incentives to promote biofuels — Boston.com. Energy Star Computer Update: The EPA says the next generation of Energy Star computers offers over $1 billion in energy savings, and already has 500 newly qualified product models already […] Read more »
Silicon Valley’s electric car startup Tesla has a roster of celebrity customers that have signed up to buy the $100,000 eye-candy feel-good vehicle — George Clooney, Matt Damon, Gavin Newsom. The latest star customer to blog about a recent test drive is everybody’s favorite Red Hot […] Read more »
The entire suite of NBC Universal’s (GE) media properties is going on a green offensive this week with the tagline “Green is Universal.” The campaign is designed to raise environmental awareness and will highlight things viewers can do to live greener. Green will be seen all […] Read more »
When Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates had solar panels installed on his home three years ago, he was fortunate enough to be able to pay for them, up front, in cash. Most aren’t so well-off. The up-front capital costs of residential solar — around $15,000 to $20,000 […] Read more »
Companies working on cellulosic ethanol — biofuel made from non-food crops and plant waste — have been racing to be the first to build a commercial plant in the U.S. This morning Khosla-backed startup Range Fuels said it has officially “broken ground” on its plant in […] Read more »
As if we needed any more proof that this is the year the candidates get serious about being green, Sen. Hillary Clinton proclaimed in a speech unveiling her energy policy yesterday that the climate crisis is “one of the greatest economic opportunities in the history of […] Read more »
LED Startup Lights Up Financing: LED Lighting Fixtures, (LLF) which unsurprisingly makes light fixtures for LED light sources, says it has raised $16.5 million in equity financing led by Digital Power Capital — release. As Oil Price Rises, Clean Energy Costs Creeping Up Too?: That’s not […] Read more »
Ballard Power Systems (BLDP), a nearly three-decades-old forefather of the fuel cell industry, said today it’s “reviewing strategic alternatives” for its automotive fuel cell assets — corporate speak for a possible sale. In explaining the move, the Vancouver, B.C.-based hydrogen fuel cell developer cited “the lengthy […] Read more »
This week, the 2007 Farm Bill, having passed in the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry with an overwhelming majority, is expected to move to the Senate floor. Besides the old subsidies for high-fructose corn syrup and new programs for farmers markets, the farm bill […] Read more »
The solar thermal startup Ausra only started talking publicly in September, but already the Khosla and Kleiner Perkins-backed Silicon Valley company is one of the more high-profile cleantech startups around. This morning, Ausra provided additional details about a planned solar thermal power plant in California and […] Read more »
A new Ivy League spin-out startup is targeting the off-the-grid power market with a fuel cell and a little dirt. Living Power Systems, formerly known as Fiat Lux (“Let There Be Light”), is the brainchild of Peter Girgius, a professor of microbiology at Harvard. The company’s […] Read more »
It might elicit protests from the college crowd, but university and corporate research partnerships are a lifeline for emerging innovation in the cleantech industry. There was two more of these big academia/big industry cleantech unions this week. This morning BP and Arizona State University, as well […] Read more »
The maturing of the car-sharing industry was illustrated by ZipCar and Flexcar announcing a merger, this week. Perhaps the market is ready for an even more sustainable approach developed by researchers at MIT: the City Car, a personal, stackable, electric, goldfish bowl-esque mode of transport, meant […] Read more »
Unlike the “green guerillas,” IBM believes in the power of financial markets to help fight climate change — and bring in customers. This morning, Big Blue said it will offer customers “energy efficiency certificates” in exchange for reducing the energy consumption of their data centers. Participants […] Read more »
The burgeoning carbon trading industry is getting prominent enough to have its very own “greenwash guerillas.” These two eco-activists briefly take over the podium at a New York carbon trading conference, offer attendees a “Deed to the Sky,” and declare carbon trading a scam. OK, so […] Read more »
Golden Soybeans: A team of researchers at the University of Missouri-Columbia have discovered how to make gold nanoparticles chemical-free by using only gold salts, soybeans and water — Eureka Alert. TeleSoft Taps Energy Software: VC firm TeleSoft Partners says it has acquired a majority interest in […] Read more »
In the quest to find the best types of tiny algae for biofuel production, Big Oil is teaming up with Big Government. Chevron (CVX) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratories announced yesterday that they are joining forces to select and develop algae that can be processed […] Read more »
German photovoltaics manufacturer Q-Cells (QCE) said today that it has bought Toledo, Ohio-based Solar Fields for $5-million plus stock. Solar Fields will be merged with Q-Cell’s Calyxo subsidiary to form Calyxo USA, of which Solar Fields LLC now owns a 7 percent share. Calyxo USA assumes […] Read more »
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