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Cleantech

Nanosolar, which has struggled for years to fulfill its promise as the next major thin-film solar manufacturer, announced Thursday it has a new CEO. Eugenia Corrales, who has been the startup’s head of engineering and operations, is taking over the chief executive post effective immediately. Read More »

The next big thing for data centers: DC power

Although we live in an AC-dominated world, DC seems poised for a comeback, particularly in data centers. Facebook adopted a DC architecture in its Prineville, Ore., data center. SAP spent $128,000 retrofitting a datacenter at its offices in Palo Alto, Calif., to rely on DC power. Read More »

 
 

A wind power controversy unfolds in California

The California Energy Commission on Wednesday filed a complaint against a wind turbine maker, contending that the company has exaggerated the performance of its equipment and caused the commission to overpay in rebates. Read More »

The California Public Utility Commission is the first major regulator to issue such sweeping guidance on how data privacy should shape the smart grid. Here is how the ruling will affect the three big California utilities, as well as tech companies, startups and telcos. Read More »

California’s grand experiment with power market deregulation ended with a bang in 2001, when Enron-engineered rolling blackouts. But in Texas, power market deregulation — or competition, as folks down here prefer to name it — is in full swing. Read More »

Cali Puts Kibosh on "Cool Cars" to Save In-Car Electronics

In California, an effort to reduce carbon emissions came into conflict with the function of certain electronic devices — and the state’s Air Resources Board (ARB) has come down in favor of the electronics. ARB announced Thursday that the so-called Cool Cars rulemaking will now “cease.” Read More »

Net Metering to Shine on in New York, California

Rooftop solar companies are breathing a sigh of relief – and are getting ready to install more projects in New York and California. That’s because legislatures in the two states have passed new rules that boost net metering, an arrangement that allows customers with small-scale … Read More »

Picarro’s Sensors to Measure Methane in California

Watch out methane producers, California has just hired Picarro. The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based startup announced Wednesday that it has been selected to provide its greenhouse gas-detecting sensor boxes to measure changes in methane emissions across the Golden State. CEO Michael Woelk told us last November that … Read More »

Daily Sprout

Best Parts of the New Smart Grid Stimulus Awards: Smart grid analyst Jesse Berst sees three high points in the latest round of stimulus funding awards for smart grid projects: roughly 30 percent of the money went to long-overlooked utility-scale energy storage, much of the money … Read More »

Think of it as a phone plan, but instead of minutes to gab each month, you get insurance coverage for a certain number of miles driven in a set period of time. That’s the basic idea behind pay-as-you-drive auto insurance policies. The concept has been tossed … Read More »

Tesla Bags $28.8M Cali Tax Break

Tesla Motors just snagged a hefty tax break in California. The state’s Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority, part of the Treasurer’s office, yesterday approved a request from the startup to avoid paying sales tax on up to $320 million worth of manufacturing … Read More »

Daily Sprout

Why Cali Gets Cleantech Investment: Mary Nichols, chairwoman of the California Air Resources Board, writes that the more than $1 billion invested in algae research and development projects in California in the last year offers “one of the clearest indicators to date that California is headed … Read More »

More Must Reads

For years, the U.S. solar-installation market has been driven mainly by independent developers and contractors who initiated most of the projects to put solar panels on rooftops and on the ground. But now, as some have predicted, it looks like utilities are starting to take … Read More »

If California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has his way, utilities in the state will get at least a third of their energy from renewable sources by 2020 — and they’ll have free reign to import it from out of the state. The move, which has been … Read More »

Pour enough cash into greentech startups and environmental efforts, and sooner or later a couple of your investments might cross paths — especially in a time when large-scale solar projects planned for the Mojave Desert are coming under fire from environmental groups concerned about … Read More »

EPA Grants California Emissions Waiver: The U.S. EPA today granted California a long-sought waiver to set tougher tailpipe emission limits than federal standards, a key step in the Obama administration’s plan to mandate higher MPGs nationwide. — NYT’s Green Inc. China Loosens Hybrid Rules: China has … Read More »

The deals keep coming for solar thermal startup eSolar, indicating confidence from utilities –- but also increasing pressure on the Pasadena, Calif.-based company to deliver quickly. The startup on Thursday announced plans to build a 92-megawatt plant in Lancaster, Calif. It has signed a deal … Read More »

It’s a question we hear all the time: Why doesn’t California have a German-style feed-in tariff for the solar industry? German utilities pay a high price for any solar electricity fed into the grid, with the cost distributed among the country’s ratepayers. The much-esteemed policy made … Read More »

Concentrating solar-thermal company eSolar hasn’t been shy about taking on new projects. The Pasadena, Calif.-based company on Thursday announced another one: an agreement to develop a 92-megawatt plant in southern New Mexico with Princeton, N.J.-based energy company NRG Energy. The companies say they are ready … Read More »

The biggest retail chain in the world may not be the working man’s best friend, but Wal-Mart Stores is trying to make friends with the planet, picking Earth Day to say that it’s Read More »

Coal: 1, Fish: 0: Overruling an appeals court decision that cost cannot be used to decide which technology will best minimize environmental impacts, the Supreme Court ruled today that the government can use cost-benefit analysis in deciding whether to order power plants to install upgrades that … Read More »

Earlier this year, the nonprofit policy group Next 10 released a report on how energy efficiency and clean technology has provided stimulus for California’s economy — lending a fresh set of data to back up something we’ve noted more than once: The U.S. might do … Read More »

Eurus Energy is no rookie in the world of renewable energy, but up until recently, wind had been its resource of choice. That’s changing — one massive solar plant at a time. The company’s Japan-based subsidiary recently completed a 1 MW photovoltaic project in South Korea, … Read More »

If the rest of the country had followed California’s lead in supporting clean energy, improving efficiency, and creating green jobs, it might not be in the economic doldrums it’s in today. That’s the assertion made by venture capitalist F. Noel Perry, founder of the nonprofit policy … Read More »

Biting Mad About Bus Emissions: A woman in New York City bit a driver’s arm (through three layers of clothing) because she was upset his bus was not a hybrid. Ouch and yikes. — New York Daily News Cleaning Up Cement Production: Mexico-based cement maker CEMEX … Read More »

Smart-charging startup Coulomb Technologies, announced today that it has raised $3.8 million in its first round of venture capital funding. The round, led by Berlin’s Estag Capital, could be the cash the company needs … Read More »

PHEV conversion companies, which turn hybrid vehicles like the Prius into plug-ins, snagged a big win in Sacramento on Friday. The California Air Resources Board, which had been considering new rules for emissions tests and warranties on aftermarket conversions, decided to separate regulations for the emerging … Read More »

A letter sent today by California air pollution controllers to EPA administrator Lisa Jackson could mark the beginning of the end of federal interference with the state’s push to enforce tighter tailpipe emissions standards. Signed by Air Resources Board (ARB) chairman Mary Nichols, the letter … Read More »

Former eBay chief Meg Whitman stepped down from her seats on three corporate boards yesterday, clearing the way for a possible run in the 2010 race for California governor, the Wall Street Journal reports. For any candidate, it would be tough to match governor Arnold … Read More »

Car buyers in California could be getting a different kind of sticker shock in the new year. Starting Jan. 1, every 2009 model year and newer car sold in California will be required to carry a label that ranks, in addition … Read More »

The California Air Resources Board has unanimously approved a sweeping plan for reducing the state’s greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels — an average cut of four tons of annual emissions per person — by 2020. Outlining rules for nearly every sector of California’s economy, … Read More »

Silicon Valley-based SunPower can still go big with solar, but today the company announced two installations that are under a megawatt each. In Western Australia, SunPower signed a deal to build a 505-kilowatt solar power plant for Read More »

The computing industries tend to build more energy-efficient data centers to save money on electricity bills, but if your company is in California, it could also get a fat check in the form of a PG&E rebate for green data center efforts. This morning California utility … Read More »

While California has been one of the most aggressive states in the U.S. to enact regulations to fight climate change, it will also be one of the first to get ready for the coming effects of climate change. On Friday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed an … Read More »

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