Solar company BrightSource says it employs between 60 and 100 biologists at any time to make sure animals in the desert surrounding its inaugural solar plant Ivanpah are unharmed. A group of environmentalists have been protesting the plant, and part of the construction was temporarily halted. Read more »
GE has made a strategic investment in solar thermal startup eSolar and has entered into a deal for an exclusive license to deploy eSolar’s technology in combination with natural gas power plants. Read more »
Amidst all of the champagne cork-popping, and bubble talk in the wake of the LinkedIn IPO Thursday morning (high-five to Reid Hoffman) I’ll offer up this downer of an article: the LinkedIn IPO is bad for cleantech. Read more »
Here is another lucky winner of a federal loan guarantee program: The U.S. Department of Energy is offering a conditional loan guarantee of $737 million to SolarReserve for building an 110MW power plant in Nevada, the DOE said Thursday. Read more »
Solar project developers typically distinguish themselves, among other things, by technology choices. Those who develop photovoltaic power plants tend to stick with PV. That trend is changing. Solar Trust of America is teaming up with a German company to develop PV power plants. Read more »
A whole lot has changed since we rounded up the solar farms that are planned for the deserts of California and Arizona, from farms changing hands, to the DOE handing out loan guarantees. Here’s 7 of the solar farms that are being built in Southwestern deserts. Read more »
Cleantech investing: it’s no longer for the everyday general venture capital firm. Mass High Tech digs into data about 10 venture firms that made five or more new cleantech deals between 2003 and 2008, and then completely pulled back from new cleantech investments after 2008. Read more »
The biggest cleantech news of last week hit the wires late afternoon on Friday: Solar thermal developer BrightSource Energy filed for a $250 million IPO. Here’s the nitty-gritty of BrightSource’s financials, PPAs, and partner deals, via BrightSource’s S-1 by the numbers: Read more »
It’s a double-whopper: The federal government is offering the largest loan guarantee commitment yet to what will be the world’s largest proposed solar farm. Blythe Solar is set to get $2.1 billion in loan guarantees to build part of a 1,000MW plant in California. Read more »
At a packed room at a solar factory, Department of Energy Chief Steven Chu announced that the DOE has awarded a conditional commitment for a $1.2 billion loan guarantee to a solar farm that will be built by SunPower and owned by power company NRG Energy. Read more »
Big investment firm Blackstone Group has reportedly shuttered its planned $500 million green fund after raising only $90 million – a sign that, amidst new green funds being raised, the sector’s weaknesses are also scaring some investors away. Read more »
Turns out building massive solar farms in the desert takes a massive amount of funding. BrightSource, which builds solar projects that use the sun’s heat to produce electricity for utilities, is in the process of raising a $100 million round, according to a filing. Read more »
Greentech startups captured four out of the five biggest U.S. venture capital rounds last year — and if it weren’t for Twitter, they might have landed all five. Read more »
Greentech marked its best year ever in 2010, and part of that is thanks to the wealth of activity across sectors during the fourth quarter. Global investment in clean energy surged, and while wind power remained the biggest greentech area, solar power saw the fastest growth. The energy efficiency sector appears to have more room for smaller players to make their mark amidst a rapidly maturing market. Meanwhile, China’s stance as a growing greentech giant continued to complicate its relationship with the United States. Companies mentioned in this report include General Electric, Intel, ZigBee, iControl, People Power and EnerNOC. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
With 2010′s numbers rolling in, it’s becoming increasingly clear that greentech investors are shifting attention from the supply side of the clean energy equation to the demand side of reducing energy use. Read more »
Venture capital investors continue their big love for solar, and despite a collective vow to be less irrationally exuberant about the sector, investors still are willing to hand out hefty amounts for buzzy startups. Read more »
This year saw some improvements in public market investors’ appetite for cleantech companies, but not enough to make it a good year. As always, the hopes are that 2011 will prove a better one. Check out our picks of top 10 IPO candidates. Read more »
The world’s greentech industry is likely meeting the end of 2010 with a mix of relief and trepidation. Clouds are on the horizon for global investment in renewable energy, and VCs fret about realizing returns on their existing investments. Meanwhile, China boasts the world’s largest population ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
NRG Energy has taken big stakes in solar and wind power generation, has a lot of green power retailing clout and is planning the first-ever for profit car charging network in the United States. What are the strengths and drawbacks of this end-to-end green power moneymaking ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Did California regulators move too hastily to approve a series of solar power projects to put massive glass, steel and concrete on thousands of acres of desert land? That question hangs over one such project now that the California Energy Commission has withdrawn its approval. Read more »
Ivanpah is on! The massive 392-MW solar farm that is being built next to the Ivanpah Dry Lake, in San Bernardino County, Calif., is now officially under construction and will be the first of its kind to use BrightSource’s solar thermal concentrating gear. Read more »
If you were wondering how solar thermal startup BrightSource was going to get its flagship solar project in the California desert built (well, after that whole DOE loan guarantee thing), here’s how: power company NRG Energy. Read more »
BrightSource Energy and French power giant Alstom have formed a partnership aimed at building solar-thermal power plants in a ring around the Mediterranean. In terms of geography, if not scale, the plan echoes the scheme of the Desertec Initiative, the mega-giant of solar-thermal projects. Read more »
American solar companies say China doesn’t play fair, and that makes it difficult to compete at home and abroad. Here is our 4-step attack plan for what companies can do to get ready for their own fight. Read more »
Solar thermal player BrightSource has raised another $26 million of its previously raised round, and reportedly has moved closer to an IPO by hiring Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs. Will the solar thermal leader hit the public markets in 2011? Read more »
Schott Solar’s announcement that it plans to halve its factory capacity for solar thermal equipment and will lay off 30 workers is a sobering reminder of some of the hurdles ahead for this emerging industry (or re-emerging, depending on your perspective). Read more »
In the second quarter of 2010, greentech startups scored record venture capital and increased spending despite a weak economy. Solar power retained its lead in greentech venture financing, while global investment for clean energy asset financing fell. China, meanwhile, underscored its rising might in the greentech industry, raising billions of dollars in green energy financing. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Electric car maker Tesla officially delivered the biggest venture backed IPO of the quarter. What made the public debut different from some of the other venture-backed IPOs that happened this quarter? Well, among a variety of things, Tesla scored a $465 million loan from the government. Read more »
Greentech startups raising money in the second quarter of this year can thank a few things for the solid quarter of venture financing: corporations, the generally weak IPO market (Tesla was the exception), and the solar industry. Read more »
Expect this summer to be a busy one for Jonathan Silver, the former venture capitalist whom the Obama administration tapped to head up the Department of Energy’s highly competitive loan guarantee and green car loan program. Here’s our interview with Silver: Read more »
