The Google-backed clean energy projects around the world [map]
Germany, South Africa, North Dakota—Google is investing in clean energy projects all over. Take a look at our map of where, what and how much. Read more »
Europe wants to be big in chip manufacturing
A new industrial strategy for the continent aims to unlock €100 billion in private-sector funding through the use of targeted public-sector funding for R&D in the fields of nanoelectronics and microelectronics. Read more »
European RE.WORK summit aims to solve future problems through emerging tech
The first summit in London, which is produced in partnership with Google’s Solve For X initiative, will focus on emerging tech such as the internet of things, 3D printing, artificial intelligence and sensors. Read more »
How Nest and Opower quietly morphed into competitors
The leading energy data startups Nest and Opower have quietly started to look more like competitors, though with some significant differences. Read more »
Video: The trends behind the year of clean energy turbulence
Global clean energy investing dropped by 22 percent in the first quarter of 2013 says Bloomberg New Energy Finance CEO Michael Liebreich. In his keynote address for Bloomberg’s energy conference this week, he unpacked some trends in the global financing of next generation energy technology. Read more »
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How energy data will impact the smart grid
The deployment of smart meters combined with the growth of cloud computing infrastructure has created opportunities to build business models around the volume of emerging energy data. Those who use data to solve customer problems and leverage decades of software development and advances in big data will attract investment dollars. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
There’s high trust in clean power despite the negative headlines
Contrary to the politics and headlines of the day, clean energy is a relatively trusted sector, and companies should be leveraging that good faith to lead. Read more »
6 questions for DuPont’s CEO on startups, ethanol and solar (interview)
The leader of the 210-year-old science giant DuPont, Ellen Kullman, sits down with GigaOM to give us her take on the future of energy for a world population that will boom to 9 billion in 2050. Read more »
Preventing a power outage during the Super Bowl: $4 million
Following the power outage during Sunday’s Super Bowl game, an Amazon Web Services engineer gave his blog readers some tips for avoiding similar events, at data centers or giant stadiums. Read more »
7 major energy trends to watch for in 2013, via DOE bigwig David Sandalow
What are the most important energy trends that the U.S. acting under secretary of energy, David Sandalow, is seeing in 2013? Check out these 7 that are at the top of his mind. Read more »
6 technologies that could shape the future of energy
photo: ThinkStock
The future of energy technology can come from surprising places: algae, hot rocks, fireflies and crowdfunding? Here’s a round up of stories this month that show off 6 technologies that could shape the future of energy. Read more »
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Cleantech and investment in 2013
In 2013 cleantech investing will move toward companies serving unsubsidized markets where software plays a role in reducing power consumption. In many ways this is a return to plays for energy efficiency, and there’s still money to be made from business models built around saving energy. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Oracle buys DataRaker for energy analytics smarts
photo: Flickr / ivva
With DataRaker buy Oracle says it can expand its reach into the water and energy verticals and offer deeper analytical “Big Data” services. It also buys new customers and a better maintenance and support revenue stream. Read more »
Meet the faces of big data with interactive iPad app
photo: Against All Odds Productions
In his latest book, The Human Face of Big Data, photojournalist Rick Smolan depicts the many ways big data is transforming the world. On Tuesday, he and his team released an iPad app that puts an interactive twist on many of the book’s examples. Read more »
What makers of the ‘learning thermostat’ learned to redesign Nest
Working with a small team of less than 20 people on a first-time hardware product is tough to do things perfectly the first time, Tony Fadell, founder of Nest Labs said Monday. He talked about how customer feedback informed a quick redesign of the company’s product. Read more »
How to make the cloud more sustainable and resilient
photo: Editor B
Simply moving to the cloud isn’t an environmental strategy. Now, says Eirikur Hrafnsson of GreenQloud, the conversation has shifted to how we can make the cloud more sustainable and resilient in a 24/7 connected and data-hungry world. Read more »
Green jobs, Fisker, creep into the VP debates
Not surprisingly Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan raised a brief argument about “green pork,” and referred to taxpayer dollars going to making “electric cars in Finland,” and “windmills in China.” And Fisker is now two for two in references in these debates. Read more »
Doctor’s dream: Jason Hoffman’s quest to build the new web machine
Jason Hoffman is familiar to many in the computing industry as the CTO of Joyent and a leader of the movement to build distributed systems. But before that, he was a doctor who helped his mom beat cancer. Here’s how the past and present connect. Read more »
Energy poverty is a dark killer
The fundamental issue of electrification and clean household energy is not about empowerment. It is about survival. Read more »
5 ways big data is transforming everyday life
In photojournalist Rick Smolan’s latest book, The Human Face of Big Data, he shares more than 100 stories revealing the concrete, mind-blowingly powerful ways big data is changing how we consume energy, receive healthcare, monitor the environment and more. Take a look at five examples. Read more »
The energy-water nexus Part II
Water is undeniably important to our physical survival, and energy is the main physical ingredient in our development of modern society. Shortages in either could have major impacts. Read more »
The energy-water nexus Part I
Water and energy are intimately related in what has been termed the Energy-Water Nexus. In this 2-part article we’ll explore aspects of this connection, touching on pumping water, use of water for the production and extraction of energy, and desalination. Read more »
The power of IT (it’s not all in energy consumption)
In its series on data centers and power the New York Times ignored many of the strides the industry is making toward energy efficiency, but it the bigger problem is that it ignored the potential of the web to reduce our energy consumption. Read more »
Space-Time Insight raises $14M to put your data on a map
Space-Time Insight has raised $14 million for its technology that visualizes geospatial data on a map so users can actually see what they’re dealing with and start to see correlations in entirely new ways. Although the energy sector drives business, the company is catching on elsewhere. Read more »
Nujira raises $12M to stem LTE’s hunger for energy
Nujira has developed technology that eliminates the enormous energy waste of LTE radios. By utilizing a technique called envelope tracking it matches the power fed into the handset with the power it transmits, which could cut down smartphone battery drain by a quarter. Read more »
Bill Clinton hearts energy efficiency, Ivanpah & tattoos (who knew)
Fresh off of visiting the Ivanpah solar plant this morning, Bill Clinton sings the praise of energy efficiency, solar, waste to energy and overall clean power at Harry Reid’s 5th annual National Clean Energy Summit. Read more »
Yahoo email users spend more on energy than Gmail users
Here’s a weird bit of energy data courtesy of energy software startup Opower: people that use Yahoo email spend $110 more a year on electricity — or 11 percent more — than Gmail users. Why? Read more »
SunEdison looking to light up rural India with solar
Many of India’s solar projects are being connected to the grid to generate power for cities. But some companies are looking to build businesses off of solar for off-grid rural India, including solar developer SunEdison, which announced a new rural solar project in India on Wednesday. Read more »
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Locating data centers in an energy-constrained world
Changes in the power market are rippling through the Internet industry, altering both the location of data centers and their sources of power. There are many factors in picking a data center location beyond the geographic location, such as how to procure energy and green-energy models. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
AlertMe’s ‘huge’ UK gas deal: big data for real people
Smart energy startup AlertMe — which provides a cloud-based way to monitor your energy consumption — has struck a deal with British Gas, the U.K.’s largest domestic energy supplier. It’s the latest big break for the business, CEO Mary Turner explains. Read more »
The 6 angels & 6 devils of environmental investing
Carter Bales, the co-founder and Chairman of private equity firm NewWorld Capital Group, is driven by dire pessimism and over-whelming optimism that converge through his livelihood: environmental investing. Read more »
End times near for U.S. support of cleantech
It looks like the end times are near for U.S. support for cleantech, at least according to a report out from the Breakthrough Institute, the Brookings Institution and the World Resources Institute. Read more »
The politicization of cleantech & the history of energy subsidies
In the wake of Solar Trust’s recent bankruptcy, conservatives were eager to brand the company’s collapse as another Solyndra. Cleantech has become highly politicized, so much so that Obama’s first reelection ad was a defense of his clean energy policy. Read more »
Organic waste recycling draws $110M from Gore, Kleiner & First Solar Chief
Harvest Power is raising $110 million from investors including Al Gore’s fund, venture firm Kleiner Perkins and a fund led by former First Solar CEO Michael Ahearn to build out its facilities that turn organic waste into fertilizer and energy. Read more »
Are we ready for energy literacy?
Education about energy is crucial for smarter decision making, which is why I’m excited that the Energy Literacy document, created by the DOE and many others, is finally out. Read more »
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Key technologies for the smart city
Five key technology sectors are enabling the smart city: smart grids, smart transport, smart water and waste management, smart building systems, and the enabling ICT platforms for the smart city. Key players like IT companies, telcos and utilities must learn how to harness those technologies, and quickly. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
The story of Energy Cache, a drop-dead simple energy idea
After an extensive interview with the founder and President of Energy Cache, Aaron Fyke, we bring you the details of how the gravel and ski lift technology works, how the company came into being, where it’s headed and how Bill Gates and Bill Gross became involved. Read more »
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After Solyndra: analyzing the solar industry
The solar industry has begun 2012 with some trepidation, with many on the warpath to cut costs and reduce output. These moves give the market a chance to reduce inventories and get production more in sync with demand. But recovery will likely come slowly. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
What the utility of the future looks like
As the smart grid grows up and reaches its full potential, Adam Lesser, GigaOM Pro green IT analyst, sees five important ways in which how we interact with our utility can be revolutionized and why they matter. Read more »
The era of the 100 MW data center
The era of the 100 MW data center is coming, as Internet companies build more and more server-packed data centers to support the growing number of web users and the increasing amount of time spent online. Read more »
