Green Tech at a Crossroads: In Search of the Green Tech Google
March 4, 2009 by editor
Filed under Eco News, Technology
A year ago, solar-technology start-up Ausra was ready for the big time. There were plans on the table to raise hundreds of millions of dollars to build giant power plants and to conduct an initial public offering of Ausra shares by 2010.
Then the recession hit. Ausra executives refocused on more modest goals, such as building small solar units, and selling equipment for industrial operations like desalination and food processing. It also is trying to sell to utilities, rather than build massive solar plants itself.
“Utilities are really in a great position to build large-scale projects,” said Katherine Potter, communications vice president at Ausra. “You need to walk before you can run, but the technology is there.”
That IPO goal, it’s fair to say, is off the table for the foreseeable future. And as executives came to accept that Ausra had to change its business, the Palo Alto, Calif., company cut about 10 percent of its 108 employees.
Ausra isn’t the only green-tech company dealing with reduced expectations. Despite high hopes, $14.5 billion in worldwide venture funding over the last two years, and cheerleading from the Obama White House, 2009 could be a make-or-break year for many green-tech outfits. And the stakes may be greater than the fortunes of a few entrepreneurs and their investors.
Save The World, Make Money
Venture capital growth for clean technologies from 2001 to 2008.
Can the United States simultaneously lean on green-tech investment to help fix its broken economy, wean itself off dependence on foreign fuel sources, and address climate change concerns? President Obama, for one, appears to be a believer in one of the fundamental underpinnings of green business: you can make money while helping save the world.
“One of the key points that…I will repeat again and again during the course of my presidency is there is not a contradiction between economic growth and sound environmental practices,” Obama said when he named his energy and environment team in December. “I think that the future of innovation and technology is going to be what drives our economy into the future. And the energy economy is going to be part of what creates the millions of jobs we need.”
Green-tech entrepreneurs and investors are well aware of these lofty goals. But these days, they’re more focused on other issues, such as finding the money to stay in business and landing customers.
“We had closed a round of funding in October for the next stage of vehicle development–then all of that went off the table in about six days,” said John Waters, the CEO of stealthy electric-car start-up Bright Automotive, which restructured two months later and managed to find alternative funding.
The question isn’t whether the green-tech movement will whither away. Already, there is a growing consumer niche for green technologies, from rooftop solar panels to low-power consumer electronics made from recycled materials.
California’s Renewable Energy Goals Feasible
February 18, 2009 by editor
Filed under Eco News, Technology
California’s goal of getting 33 percent of its electricity from the sun, the wind and other renewable sources by 2020 might be more feasible than previously thought, according to a new government report.
If all the renewable power projects proposed in the state last year were built, California would easily surpass that goal, according to a report issued Wednesday by the California Public Utilities Commission. All told, those projects would generate 24,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for 18 million homes.
That’s on top of the renewable power already flowing in California. According to the report, solar plants and wind farms built in California during 2008 can generate 516 megawatts of electricity, roughly as much as a midsize, fossil-fuel power plant. The previous year, the state only added 113 megawatts of renewable power.
Eye on the Environment: Recycler Turns Silicon Scraps into a Product Now in Demand
January 18, 2009 by editor
Filed under Eco News, Jobs, Technology
Despite a worldwide drop in commodity prices and the painful consequences for the recycling industry, some types of recycling continue to thrive. Similarly, despite ongoing struggles over the state budget, some state programs still provide great benefits to local economies.
On Thursday in Camarillo, public and private recyclers will celebrate a milestone in economic development and environmental progress. The California Integrated Waste Management Board recently loaned its 100 millionth dollar through the Recycling Market Development Zone program.
The board, which channels these low-interest (4 percent fixed-rate) loans locally through the Ventura County Recycling Market Development Zone, will commemorate the achievement by joining with ersol Silicon Inc. in hosting an event showcasing the results of one of these loans.
Using a $1.6 million loan, ersol Silicon developed from a local scrap recycling center into an internationally renowned provider of recycled silicon. This loan, given eight years ago, helped the company turn waste from the solar and computer manufacturing industries into material useful to solar panel manufacturers.
Southern California Solar Company Phat Energy Sponsors Sundance Eco Event
LOS ANGELES - (Business Wire) Phat Energy has made it into the Sundance Film Festival. The Los Angeles-based company that designs and installs solar energy systems, is a co-sponsor of “2009: A Green Odyssey,” a part of the festival dedicated to environmentally-themed films. The largest eco-event in Sundance history, Green Odyssey will be held on January 16th from 8 p.m. to midnight at Village on Main in Park City.
Phat Energy sees itself as more than a supplier of renewable energy products; it’s also a promoter of environmentally responsible lifestyles. Its sponsorship of the Sundance event is a way to get its message to a particularly influential crowd. “The entertainment community can and must energize our green economy,” says Phat Energy General Manager Philippe Hartley. “We applaud the filmmakers who lead that charge; that’s why Phat Energy is proud to support this event.”
The 10 Biggest Cleantech Victories of 2008 (Videos)
There were significant cleantech milestones in 2008 … Here are some of the highlights:
1) The Renewable Energy Investment Tax Credit Passed…Finally: Clean power startups were fretting throughout the first half of the year, but a financial crisis was what it would take for Congress to finally extend the investment and production tax credits that play such a vital role in the cleantech industry. In 2009, the wind industry will be looking to get its tax credits extended even further.
2) Obama Won, Promises Cleantech Support: A victory in 2008 for President-elect Barack Obama promises a future in which the U.S. turns it attention to fighting climate change once and for all - an abrupt shift from the current administration. Obama has pledged $150 billion investment in clean power over the next decade and a green-tinged stimulus that will provide jobs from the get-go; he’s already appointed an array of scientists and eco-advocates for his cabinet posts.
3) Record Level of Cleantech Investing: It might not last in 2009, but 2008 saw a record level of venture investment in the cleantech industry. According to the Cleantech Group, venture firms invested $2.6 billion into 158 companies globally in the third quarter of 2008, a 37 percent increase from the year before and a 17 percent increase over the previous quarter. In fact, the first three quarters of 2008 brought in more cleantech investment than all of 2007.
4) Massive U.S. Solar Plants Moved Forward: With the renewable portfolio standards in states like California calling for a certain percentage of electricity to come from clean power, utilities became a lot more aggressive on doing deals with solar companies to get solar facilities built in 2008. Northern California utility PG&E (PCG) signed 800 MW worth of solar purchase agreements with SunPower (SPWRA) and OptiSolar for photovoltaic solar power plants, as well as 900 MW of solar thermal projects with BrightSource.
5) First Solar’s Panels Reached Grid Parity?: Another contributing factor to the rush of solar deals is the drop in the price of solar technology. According to one analyst - Pacific Crest’s Mark Bachman - thin-film solar darling First Solar (FSLR) has already reached grid parity, or the point where photovoltaic electricity is as cheap as conventional electric power. If true, that’s a major victory for the U.S. solar photovoltaic industry.
6) Mainstream Tech Went Green: Infotech companies started to see the merit of energy efficiency, and even clean power, in 2008. Google (GOOG) was the second most active cleantech investor in the third quarter of this year. Intel has been investing in solar, battery and energy storage companies, and has been advised to move into lithium-ion battery production. Companies like IBM (IBM), HP (HPQ) and Sun (JAVA) made significant efforts to cut down on energy consumption in their data centers and design lower power computing hardware. To learn more about the merger of greentech and infotech, check out the upcoming GreenNet09 conference in March in San Francisco.
7) Better Place Struck Deals: While we’re not sure how electric vehicle startup Better Place will fair over the long run - the proposed networks still need to secure funding - the company struck a string of deals in 2008, offering hope to the future of electric transportation. Deals included partnerships with Israel, Denmark, the California Bay Area, Hawaii and Australia.
8) U.S. Wind Market Blew Strong: So T. Boone has delayed his wind farm plans, but the U.S. still saw a significant amount of wind turbine construction in 2008. According to the American Wind Energy Association, the U.S. has installed over 20,000 MW of wind capacity, and is now the world leader in wind electricity generation, with enough to power 5.3 million American homes.
9) The Year of Plans: It was hip to conjure up a plan to use technology to fight global warming. In 2008 we heard detailed plans from wind power builder T. Boone Pickens, former Vice-President and cleantech investor Al Gore, former Intel Chairman Andy Grove, and Google CEO Eric Schmidt. Plans deliver hope and more chance of action.
10) Electric Vehicles On the Horizon: The high price of gas this summer (which has since dropped) spurred large auto makers to declare electric vehicle plans, while startups also moved aggressively into the market. Since then there’s been some serious hangups - the auto industry’s near-death experience, Think stumbling, Tesla slowing down - but 2008 planted the seeds of an electric vehicle trend that will emerge more significantly in 2009 and 2010.
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Katie Fehrenbacher
CNN Money
High-Level U.S. Presence Confirmed for World Future Energy Summit 2009
December 30, 2008 by editor
Filed under Eco News, Technology
Video from the 2008 World Future Energy Summit
In three weeks, leading US renewable energy companies will be in Abu Dhabi at the world’s principal renewable technology trade fair, the World Future Energy Summit 2009 (WFES09). The US pavilion, consisting of 19 companies, has been co-ordinated by the US Commercial Service because the UAE represents “one of the world’s most lucrative and expanding renewable energy markets”.
The US high-level presence at the summit will be everywhere with technology giants, GE Energy and Applied Materials also in the exhibition and senior management representatives expected from Exxon Mobil, Conoco Phillips and Occidental Power. CH2M Hill, one of the largest engineering firms in the world, will be exhibiting, present on the MASDAR stand and presenting commercial case studies on water desalination and clean transport on Jan 20th.
The range of technologies available from the US exhibitors include turn-key solar factory providers, solar PV and thermal equipment manufacturers and suppliers, engineers and construction experts in electrical, mechanical, plumbing and fire protected Green Buildings.
In addition, electric cars and low carbon transportation, power grid systems and renewable energy university courses available in the US will be on exhibit from Jan 19-21st, 2009.
Read more
Pasadena California Volunteer Committee Creating Energy Road Map
Pasadena California City Hall
PASADENA - A volunteer committee and a hired energy consultant are working to create a road map for how Pasadena will meet its energy challenges in the future.
And there are many - from funding and building new power plants to reducing city dependency on coal power to bringing in new sources of green power.
All of these and several other challenges are being hashed out as the committee seeks to create a long-term energy plan and have it ready for the City Council to review by this spring.
At its most recent meeting, the committee looked at options for reducing greenhouse emissions linked to Pasadena’s power supplies. Working with a target year of 2020, the committee looked at four different plans that would theoretically reduce such emission by 30, 40, 60 and - in the most ambitious of the four options - 75 percent.
Germany Designs Houses Encased In Airtight Shell From Which Little Heat Escapes
No Furnaces but Heat Aplenty in ‘Passive Houses’
DARMSTADT, Germany - From the outside, there is nothing unusual about the stylish new gray and orange row houses in the Kranichstein District, with wreaths on the doors and Christmas lights twinkling through a freezing drizzle. But these houses are part of a revolution in building design: There are no drafts, no cold tile floors, no snuggling under blankets until the furnace kicks in. There is, in fact, no furnace.
In Berthold Kaufmann’s home, there is, to be fair, one radiator for emergency backup in the living room - but it is not in use. Even on the coldest nights in central Germany, Mr. Kaufmann’s new “passive house” and others of this design get all the heat and hot water they need from the amount of energy that would be needed to run a hair dryer.
Berthold Kaufmann and his wife, Dorte Feierabend, with their daughters in their "passive house" in Darmstadt, Germany.
Solar Meets Polar as Winter Curbs Clean Energy
Old Man Winter, it turns out, is no friend of renewable energy.
This time of year, wind turbine blades ice up, biodiesel congeals in tanks and solar panels produce less power because there is not as much sun. And perhaps most irritating to the people who own them, the panels become covered with snow, rendering them useless even in bright winter sunshine.
In Minnesota, Alan Stankevitz did a new winter chore for homeowners: clearing the solar panels.
So in regions where homeowners have long rolled their eyes at shoveling driveways, add another cold-weather chore: cleaning off the solar panels. “At least I can get to them with a long pole and a squeegee,” said Alan Stankevitz, a homeowner in southeast Minnesota.
As concern has grown about global warming, many utilities and homeowners have been trying to shrink their emissions of carbon dioxide - their carbon footprints - by installing solar panels, wind turbines and even generators powered by tides or rivers. But for the moment, at least, the planet is still cold enough to deal nasty winter blows to some of this green machinery.
California Governor Schwarzenegger’s Green Challenge
California Governor Says He’ll Stick To Environmental Plans, Despite Economic Crisis
President-elect Obama is 30 days from office. For a window on his future, turn west for a moment to a chief executive who is already up to his neck in the nation’s troubles.
This month, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger warned of financial Armageddon, as California faced a potential $40 billion deficit that threatened jobs, roads, schools and public safety. At the same time, he’s pushing some of the world’s toughest environmental laws to make California a leader on climate change.
