Toshiba acquires smart grid startup Consert
Toshiba has acquired another smart grid startup Consert, who has been building a smart home service. Read more »
C3 snaps up Efficiency 2.0 to tackle utility customers
Watch out Opower. Carbon and energy software player C3 — the quiet firm started by Thomas Siebel and which counts Condoleezza Rice as a director — has acquired another energy software startup Efficiency 2.0. Read more »
Biofuel investments keep on coming
Developing biofuels continues to be a bright spot in the cleantech world. Two startups, plant genetic engineering company Chromatin and biofuel producer ZeaChem, announced separately on Tuesday that they have raised new rounds of funding. Read more »
Consert raises funds for 3G smart energy home
Consert, a startup that uses Verizon’s 3G network to curb energy consumption of homes, is in the process of raising $8.75 million in equity and debt, according to a filing. Read more »
When green government awards aren’t a leg up
Greentech has been like few other sectors in terms of its high reliance on government support. But, at the same time, a variety of companies are finding that accepting government support can sometimes be the wrong choice. Read more »
Subscriber Content
Green IT Q1: Cleantech Breaking Out — and Bracing for Hard Times
Is the greentech industry headed for a breakout year or is it retrenching for hard times to come? The first three months of 2011 provided evidence that could support both assertions, with a big rise in venture capital investment and a big drop-off in global energy financing. Solar power remained the largest green technology sector in terms of venture capital investment, while in the world of electric vehicles, GM’s Chevy Volt hybrid and Nissan’s all-electric Leaf — the first two mainstream plug-in vehicles — hit the showroom floors in significant numbers. Meanwhile the smart grid sector’s relative dearth of VC investment was more than made up for by the massive round of acquisitions. Companies mentioned in this report include NRG Energy, Microsoft, Silver Spring Networks, Tesla and BrightSource Energy. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Negawatts vs. Megawatts: What’s the Right Price?
A new rule giving demand response “negawatts” an equal price as megawatts of generated power on energy markets is meant to make the grid more efficient and power more affordable. But what if it backfires? Read more »
Demand Response “Negawatts” Getting a Pay Day
The federal grid regulator has ruled that the “negawatts” delivered by demand response companies deserve the same market prices as megawatts of generated energy — a ruling that could pay huge dividends for the demand response industry. Read more »
Johnson Controls Buys EnergyConnect’s DR Dashboard
Johnson Controls is buying up Campbell, Calif.-based EnergyConnect, one of the more interesting behind-the-scenes players in demand response software for the customer as well as the utility. Read more »
GridWeek Roundup: Smart Grid Integration, Ahoy
Smart grid trade show GridWeek is wrapping up in Washington D.C., but the hard work of integrating all the hardware and software on display has just begun. Read more »
Why Comverge Is Rebranding Demand Response
Comverge has rebranded itself as a provider of “intelligent energy management” services. What does that mean for the demand response provider’s future against big competitor EnerNOC and upstarts in the smart grid space? Read more »
Subscriber Content
Demand Response as the Back Door Smart Grid?
New smart grid technologies promise to widen the reach of demand response, but what if that process works in reverse? Big demand response players are leveraging their middleman role between utilities and customers to bring their technology in as a “back-door” smart grid conduit between the ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Why the Line Between Smart Grid & Demand Response Is Blurring
Big demand response players are leveraging their middleman role between utilities and customers to apply their technology in to fields traditionally defined as smart grid. Given the way the market is developing, they may have little choice. Read more »
Report: Smart Grid Outspends Smart Meters
Smart meters get all the attention, but smart distribution grid and substation projects are actually taking the lead in smart grid spending across the nation, and corporate giants are reaping the benefit. That’s the gist of a Cleantech Group report released by the DOE Thursday. Read more »
Demand Response M&A: Constellation Snaps Up CPower
One of the oldest smart grid technologies out there is also one of the most ripe for M&A: demand response. And that’s not a coincidence. On Friday power company Constellation Energy announced that it plans to acquire demand response and energy management provider CPower. Read more »
