Throughout 2007, PG&E has touted its renewable energy road map, pledging to add clean power generation from sources like solar and wind as it works to reach the California state mandate of 20 percent of utility power from renewables by 2010. While the utility is close to its goal, when it comes to “delivered power,” [...]
At a summit meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, this weekend, one of the main themes was “protecting our planet.” In his opening remarks, King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz said his country would put $300 million into a program that “will finance research related to the future of energy, [...]
Chip manufacturing company Applied Materials is continuing to buy its way into the solar markets. This morning, the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company said it plans to acquire Italy’s Baccini, a maker of metallization and testing equipment for photovoltaic solar cell production, for about $330 million.Baccini isn’t exactly a startup; the firm has been developing its [...]
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the Nobel Prize-winning group of scientists that mainstreamed the idea that carbon emissions were the main cause of climate change, on Saturday released a summary of their findings aimed at policymakers (pdf). It’s being called a “grim report,” with “more explicit” information — and an increased sense of alarm. [...]
The wheels of a $500 million academic and industry collaboration to fight carbon emissions with bio-energy, are starting to turn. On the 1st of December Christopher Somerville will officially start his work as the Director of the Energy Biosciences Institute, (EBI), a first of its kind, half a billion dollar partnership between energy giant BP, [...]
Boise, Idaho-based biomechanics startup M2E Power announced today that they have raised $8 million in Series A funding. The 22 month-old company’s investment was led by OVP Venture Partners with particiaption by @Ventures and Highway 12 Ventures. M2E has created a microgenerator and a battery storage system that can capture energy from the daily motions [...]
Cleantech Fringe Photo Spread: CNET has an eye-candy photo essay of cutting edge photogenic clean energy tech. Purdy — CNETYum, Fat in a Box: Pacific Natural Energy (PNE) has developed FatBox which can transform fat into fuel. I’m sure it’s very useful but it sounds like a horror movie — Renewable Energy Access.Exxon, Partners to [...]
It’s starting to feel like a mad dash to the legislative finish line. With just days to go before the Thanksgiving holiday, my estimation earlier this week that Congress might wholesale the environmental integrity of the Energy Bill remains a possibility, but overall, as discussions continue behind closed doors, the fate of the bill is [...]
Enter your zip code into the newly launched Carbon Monitoring for Action web site and you’re likely to uncover some information that will surprise you — there’s really a power plant that close to me spewing hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of carbon emissions into the atmosphere? Good to know. When it comes to [...]
Enzymes are fragile — they don’t like things such as chemicals or heat. And as enzymes are increasingly being put to work in the cleantech world, stabilizing enzymes that can be used in renewable energy applications is becoming a valuable technology. St. Louis, Miss.-based Akermin, which is working on developing this enzyme-stabilizing technology, said this [...]
