With early stage capital for cleantech innovation becoming increasingly scarce, crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter, Indiegogo and a new crop of clean/green ones are beginning to emerge as significant sources of funding for selected next-gen clean technologies. Hurdles remain, particularly for investors seeking returns, but I’m more optimistic abou
Tag: Energy Storage
Ernie Moniz: An Inspired Choice for DOE Secretary
Our industry should rally behind anyone who knows how to spell “photovoltaic.” Especially at the DOE, which is a large, complex, slow-moving, virtually radioactive bureaucracy. Not only can Dr. Moniz spell photovoltaic, he’s demonstrated the engineerin…
Ernie Moniz: An Inspired Choice for DOE Secretary
Our industry should rally behind anyone who knows how to spell “photovoltaic.” Especially at the DOE, which is a large, complex, slow-moving, virtually radioactive bureaucracy. Not only can Dr. Moniz spell photovoltaic, he’s demonstrated the engineerin…
Asia Report: India’s Solar Market at a Crossroads
As India prepares to enter Phase II of its National Solar Mission (NSM), one of the world’s more promising solar markets finds itself at a critical juncture. Much uncertainty lingers in this young market: financing is still challenging, a trade dispute looms, and policy decisions now being hashed out at both national and state levels could swell the country’s market to its lofty goals — or just as easily undercut that momentum, according to a report from Mercom Capital Group’s Raj Prabhu.
Two Green Stocks I Told My Sister to Sell
Once a year, I give my sister stock trading advice. Managing money is not her thing, so any more often and she’d likely lose interest, and not do anything. With that constraint, I wait until there are a large number of stocks I think she should trade,…
Cultivating Bipartisan Support for Biofuel From Germs
People attending a Washington event this week may witness something almost unheard of in political circles: Republicans praising a clean-energy program supported by President Barack Obama.
Silicon Valley Investors Shifting to Power Grid After Solar Sours
Silicon Valley investors that helped build the solar industry are shifting cash into electricity-grid technology and energy-storage developers after bets on panel manufacturers failed to pay off.
Alternative Energy Funds Deliver Stunning Quarterly Returns, But Beware the Risks
The Roen Financial Report closely covers the universe of almost 30 alternative energy Mutual Funds (MFs) and Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). We use a proprietary ranking method to pick the best funds, looking at measures that include fees, risk, tax liab…
The Rise of Green Mobile Telecom Towers
Recent developments in renewable energies might overthrow the diesel generator as the technology of choice for off-grid mobile base stations. Renewable energy has evolved considerably over the last couple of years. So much, in fact, that solutions recently deemed to be unfeasible might now warrant a second look. Take mobile telecom operators, for
Billionaire Moguls Fighting for and Against Renewable Energy
Two of the most recognizable wealthy businessmen in the Western World appear to have very different opinions on the viability of renewable energy.
China’s Hainan Province Mulls Electric Vehicles Demonstration Project
Industry leaders and experts were all positive concerning the future of Hainan province’s electric vehicles market at the 2012 Global New Energy Vehicle Conference (GNEV) held in Boao and Haikou, two cities in Hainan province, China in January. Experts…
NREL Connects EVs and Grid Integration
Engineers working at the Vehicle Testing and Integration Facility (VTIF) enjoy a stunning view of the Denver skyline. However, some days the view includes Denver’s ‘brown cloud’ — air pollution caused in part by vehicle emissions. While disheartening, the brown cloud helps the engineers focus on future technologies that will drastically reduce — and ultimately eliminate — those emissions.
Asia Report: India Scales Back Subsidies, What it Means for Solar
India is targeting a deficit target of 5.3 percent of its GDP for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2013, but at current spending India will fall short by about 20%, or roughly 2.06 trillion rupee. Among the measures to hit that target are a reduction i…
Shifting into a Higher Clean Energy Gear – New Training Safeguards Aligned with Jobs
Welcome to the confusing and somewhat chaotic world of credentialing! Last month, the result of a marathon endeavor, the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) reached two national milestones in our commitment to credentialing in renewable energy and energy efficiency. Our goal – standardized quality training matched with employer needs – train
US Elections Behind, A123 Sale Moves Ahead
After a stormy 2012 that saw growing trade friction between China and the US, I’m happy to see that 2013 is getting off to a better start with Washington’s approval of a potentially sensitive sale of a bankruptcy US technology firm to a Chinese buyer. Many readers will know that I’m talking about the case of A123 Systems, a former high-flying U.S.
Wanxiang Wins U.S. Government Approval to Buy Battery Maker A123
Wanxiang Group Co., China’s biggest auto-parts maker, won approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. to buy most of the assets of A123 Systems Inc., the bankrupt electric-car battery maker backed with U.S. government funds.
PG&E Approved to Buy Power from SolarReserve CSP Project with Molten Salt Storage
PG&E Corp., the owner of California’s largest utility, received approval from regulators to buy power from a 150-megawatt solar-thermal project in the state’s Sonoran Desert, the first commercial-scale system in the state to include energy-storage capabilities.
Developers Will Invest 1.9 Trillion in Clean Energy Over Next Five Years
Developers and financiers will invest $1.9 trillion building clean-energy power plants worldwide from 2012 through 2018 as demand for electricity increases, according to The Pew Charitable Trusts.
Norway Needs New Power Cables to Boost Hydro, Statkraft CEO Says
Norway needs new power cables to allow it to double installed capacity in its hydropower plants, Europe’s largest, and boost electricity exports to the region, according to Statkraft SF.
Norway Needs New Power Cables to Boost Hydro, Statkraft CEO Says
Norway needs new power cables to allow it to double installed capacity in its hydropower plants, Europe’s largest, and boost electricity exports to the region, according to Statkraft SF.