Will Kickstarter come through for an energy entrepreneur looking for funding for a next-gen energy storage device? A startup called Velkess is looking for $54,000 to build a large prototype of a new type of flywheel, which is a like a spinning kinetic battery. Read more »
The past year has been difficult for solar panel makers as many of them shuttered factories and filed for bankruptcies. The latest sign of this bleak time comes from a Tuesday announcement by Abound Solar, which is now suspending production and letting go of 180 workers. Read more »
As a result of the bankruptcies of Solyndra and Beacon Power, the Department of Energy’s Loan Guarantee Program is now under heavy scrutiny. But a new Bloomberg report digs into the numbers and finds the program is a lot more successful than it has seemed. Read more »
Beacon Power, the flywheel maker that filed for bankruptcy last month after winning a $43 million loan guarantee from the Department of Energy, announced on Saturday that it plans to sell its 20 MW flywheel plant in Stephentown, New York, to pay back the DOE loan. Read more »
The Federal Regulatory Energy Commission recently passed a new rule for frequency regulation to support emerging technologies that can provide quick bursts of power to the grid. We break down what this new rule means and who will benefit. Read more »
There’s been a similar sentiment from both companies that received loan guarantees from the Department of Energy and then declared bankruptcy: The terms of the loans were too onerous. Read more »
The woes of battery maker Ener1 keep piling on. Following on the heels of its loss on electric car maker Think, the company’s CEO stepping down, and its planned restatement of its earnings, Ener1 has now officially been delisted from the Nasdaq. Read more »
The bankruptcy of Beacon Power will likely draw attention to the flywheel industry, as Beacon was one of the better known companies in that field. So what exactly are flywheels for energy storage, and why do companies buy them? Here’s what you need to know: Read more »
Flywheel maker Beacon Power declared bankruptcy on Sunday after winning a $43 million loan guarantee from the DOE in the summer of 2009. This is the second company to declare bankruptcy that had a loan guarantee from the DOE program, following solar maker Solyndra’s bankruptcy. Read more »
There’s been a lot of high-fiving among energy storage technology developers about a bill signed into law by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger this week. However, the bill doesn’t mandate energy storage, which means it’s far from determined which technologies and players will be the big winners. Read more »
Can the grid handle the growing flow of wind and solar that will come online in the next few years? According to California’s grid operator the answer is yes, but with a particular attention to energy storage policy. Read more »
Utilities know they have to figure out how to store energy produced intermittently, such as wind and solar, or store energy from fossil-fuel power plants to keep the grid loaded when wind turbines and solar energy equipment aren’t doing their best. Read more »
