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Cleantech

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 »

Pan-Pacific Smart Grid: Japanese Giants Move to Maui

Maui is set to become a smart grid showcase, courtesy of Japanese giants like Hitachi, Sharp and Hewlett-Packard Japan. These companies are among the partners that signed on to a long-range project announced Tuesday, aimed at integrating the Hawaiian Island’s renewable power and plug-in vehicles to… Read More »

 
 

Nuclear Players’ New Love: Solar and Wind

Renewable energy is enjoying a rising profile at the expense of nuclear power. But nuclear power producers and technology developers aren’t necessary the losers there. Some of them have been snapping up solar and wind companies and power plant projects, and the trend will continue. Read More »

Researchers are already predicting how the nuclear disaster in Japan will affect the nuclear industry. According to Mark Cooper, a senior fellow at Vermont Law School’s Institute for Energy and Environment, construction costs of nuclear reactors are likely to soar for awhile. Read More »

Next-generation nuclear technology could come to a screeching halt in the short term due to the backlash against nuclear in the wake of the Japanese nuclear incident, predicts Ray Rothrock, a partner at venture firm Venrock and a former nuclear engineer. Read More »

The DOE’s Loan Program will seek guidance from relevant nuclear agencies on lessons learned from the Japanese nuclear incident, but at this point remains committed to nuclear power, said Jonathan Silver, DOE Loan Chief at the Cleantech Forum in San Francisco on Wednesday. Read More »

Japan’s massive earthquake, tsunami, and now nuclear disaster, is starting to shine a spotlight on just how important the country is in terms of clean energy technology, from solar to electric cars. Read More »

It’s still not clear how big a disaster Japan’s nuclear problem is yet, but what is clear is it will have far reaching effects on policy and public relations around nuclear power. It’s been front and center in global media and policy debates this weekend. Read More »

Five of Japan’s heavyweights in the auto and power industries — Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi Motors, Fuji Heavy Industries and Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), the country’s largest utility — have joined forces to try and speed the adoption of a standard quick-charging system for electric vehicles. Each… Read More »

Daily Sprout

Smart Grid Challenge: Can competing smart grid models “challenge and complement one another, or will they be driven by infighting—over standards, regulations, federal investment dollars, etc.?” — Solve Climate Not Cheap, But Financed: For those that can’t scrounge together $109,000 to buy a luxury electric Roadster… Read More »

Mitsubishi and Subaru, two automakers racing to launch some of the earliest plug-in vehicles for consumers, have just announced plans to roll out their first all-electric models next month in Japan. But the two have very different ambitions and roles to play on the road to… 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 »

More Must Reads

Two different airlines had algae biofuel test flights this month, and both turned to the well-funded Sapphire Energy for their needs. Japan Airlines took flight today on a plane partially powered by camelina,… Read More »

Abu Dhabi is continuing to spread its oil money around, announcing a deal today to set up a cleantech fund targeting Japanese startups. Masdar, the oil-rich emirate’s cleantech development group, is teaming up with Japan’s Read More »

Japan will renew subsidies for residential solar power equipment next month, officials with the country’s ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry announced this week. The $99.6 million package of incentives pledged for the first quarter of 2009 came not a day too soon for electronics… Read More »

The global market for electric vehicle batteries could grow to $19 billion by 2010, and Japan’s Toshiba Corp. wants an ample piece of it. The electronics giant stepped up the race to supply rechargeable batteries to automakers with news that it plans to build… Read More »

Solar Subsidies Strike Back: Japanese officials announced plans today to bring back subsidies for solar panels on homes, starting with $99.6 million for the first quarter of 2009. — Reuters End of the SUV Era: Factory closings in recent years have left the Big Three with… Read More »

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