When the huge solar farm just outside of Las Vegas called Ivanpah opened up in early 2014, many lamented that this type…
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A quest to prove there’s a business case for installing big batteries at buildings
California is set to become a large energy storage market, and that has prompted bankers to figure out whether they could make money from it. Wells Fargo plans to get answers from its own pilot project.…
Read MoreThe spigot of money starting to open up for installing solar panels
As a boom of solar panels continues to be installed on buildings throughout the U.S., companies, groups and even every day people can make money off of funding this clean energy transition.…
Read MoreWhat SolarCity’s earnings say about the challenges of building a solar retail business
SolarCity is one of the leaders when it comes to installing solar panels on home owner's rooftops. But the company's $31 million loss, in its latest quarter, shows the growing pains for the retail solar players.…
Read MoreBrightSource’s cancelled projects highlight hurdles for desert solar thermal plants
Even while some of the huge solar thermal plants being built in the deserts are hitting their milestones, others are facing hurdles due to transmission line delays and cost concerns. Meanwhile solar panel farms, particularly of utility scale, reached a record in 2012.…
Read MoreEarly results: PG&E customers like controlling thermostats with iPhones
According to early results of PG&E's trial with smart thermostats from Honeywell and Opower, customers really like controlling the thermostat remotely with their iPhones. Remote control could prove to be one of the first smart grid applications that is a clear benefit to consumers.…
Read MoreIntroducing a big data prediction engine for the power grid
AutoGrid, a startup that's developed a big data analytics engine for energy, officially launched on Monday and unveiled its first product, and its first two customers. Picture if you took Netflix or Amazon's recommendation engines and used them for utilities' energy data.…
Read MoreTo get the green light, solar farms factor in price, storage and land
California regulators approved some -- but not all -- of the power contracts that Southern California Edison wants to have with BrightSource Energy in a compromise that they say will provide the state's residents with more affordable solar power in the run long.…
Read MoreA new big solar panel farm in the works in California
California utility PG&E continues to sign contracts to buy solar power from solar panel projects in California deserts. On Friday SunPower announced that it will build a 100 MW solar panel farm in Kings County, Calif., which will be enough power for 36,000 homes.…
Read MoreTips for presenting energy data: look to Facebook, LinkedIn, Amazon
How to connect and influence consumers’ energy use habits with big volumes of smart grid data? Making data interesting, of course. But that’s easier said than done. DJ Patil, a data scientist extraordinaire at Greylock Partners and previously at LinkedIn, doled out some tips.…
Read MoreA startup looks to make money from emissions detectors
Counting emissions accurately -- from carbon dioxide to methane -- in the air and soil has long been the domain of academia. But Silicon Valley startup Picarro is hoping to turn that practice into a booming commercial business by wooing the natural gas industry.…
Read MoreCA regulators say no to PG&E’s request to invest in solar tech
Two months ago we asked whether utilities should invest in solar manufacturing because Pacific Gas & Electric was proposing to do just that. The answer from California regulators, who were divided over the issue, was "no" as they voted 3-2 to deny the request on Thursday.…
Read MoreSmart meter installations to decline in U.S. over next 2 years
Smart meters eventually will be ubiquitous globally over the next few decades, but, interestingly enough, installations of smart meters in the U.S. will actually sharply decline over the next two years, before they pick back up, according to Pike Research.…
Read MoreC3 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 MoreThe Facebook social energy app is here
One of the most comprehensive applications to use Facebook to manage home energy consumption has officially launched. Created by Opower, the social energy app enables Facebook users to compare their energy consumption with their peers and keep track of energy data provided by a utility.…
Read MoreSolar shakeout continues: Q-Cells to file for bankruptcy
Q-Cells was once the largest solar cell maker in the world. Now the company says on Monday it’s filing for bankruptcy, which makes it the latest example of an industry turmoil that has forced many other manufactures out of the business as well.…
Read MoreUtilities embrace Green Button energy data project
Nine more utilities, and three large energy vendors, announced support on Thursday for the Green Button project, which enables utility customers to download their energy consumption data with a click of a button and also use that data for energy-saving apps.…
Read MoreShould utilities invest in solar tech manufacturing?
Utilities don't often invest in new tech manufacturing, but then, California's PG&E isn't your average utility. PG&E has requested state approval to enable it to invest $9.9 million of taxpayer money into a solar engineering and manufacturing service center run by commercialization startup SVTC Technologies.…
Read MoreChart: What Cali’s clean power will look like by 2020
Solar panel projects only started to vie for California utilities' interest in 2007, yet the tech is set to become the largest piece of renewable energy in the state in less than a decade. Check out our charts:…
Read MoreVIA Motors rolls out converted hybrid electric trucks
Trotting out auto industry veteran and the former public face of Chevy Volt, Bob Lutz, as a spokesman, VIA Motors on Tuesday showed off its technology of converting conventional trucks, cargo vans and SUVs into hybrid electric vehicles and laid out production plans.…
Read MoreFirst Solar slashes forecast, staff & plans to flee subsidized markets
First Solar (s FSLR) has had enough with subsidized solar markets and will bet its future on sales in countries in which solar companies that can provide low-priced equipment and engineering services will make money and stay in business, company executives said Wednesday.…
Read MoreWhat you need to know about PG&E’s home energy projects
PG&E plans to start testing out home energy gadgets and software starting in March 2012 with a small group of customers, and the utility unveiled details of its plan this week. Here's what you need to know.…
Read MoreWhich utilities deliver the most energy efficiency benefits?
Energy efficiency measures both reduce consumption and slow the pace of building power plants. Utilities know that, but how much are they doing to promote the idea? A report looks at 50 U.S. utilities and ranked them by the investments they have made in energy efficiency.…
Read MoreBrightSource Energy plans 3rd massive solar farm
BrightSource Energy is still building its first solar farm, but the company already is steaming ahead with the third, 810 MW project called Rio Mesa, for which the company said Friday it has applied for approval from the California Energy Commission.…
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