from original post at Clean Fleet Report Gartner, the largest technology market research firm, is forecasting 100,000 electric car sales in 2012 in the United States. Yesterday, I took in the presentation at the SV Forum and then talked with Thilo Koslowski, Vice President of Gartner’s Automotive and Vehicle Practice. He acknowledged that 100,000 is [...]
The Water Innovations Alliance (WIA) recently completed an assessment of the state of the U.S. water infrastructure, which was given an overall grade of D- by the American Society of Civil Engineers in its most recent infrastructure report card. Underlying that nearly failing grade, the WIA produced some startling statistics in a recent newsletter (not yet posted to [...]
On September 21st, 2011, sodium-sulfur (NAS) batteries installed at Mitsubishi Materials Corp’s Tsukuba Plant, Japan, caught on fire. It took firefighters more than 8 hours to control the blaze, and two weeks to extinguish the fire. NGK Insulators Ltd., the company that manufactured the energy storage system, said the fire authorities are still investigating the cause of the fire. NGK has suspended production of its NAS cells, and advised customers around the world refrain from using their batteries until it tracks down the cause of the fire and finds a solution.
I don’t know exactly when “green” became the de facto official color of environmentalism, but it dates back at least to the 1970s, when European political parties rooted in ardent environmental positions took the name “Green”. But, as Paul Markille noted in The Economist‘s excellent annual round-up of speculations for the new year — “The World [...]
from original post at Clean Fleet Report It’s an ideal California day for this test drive of the Kia Optima Hybrid. As the day warms, we will be able to open the sunroof, even though it is January. The sky is so clear that we can see the Farallon Islands 26 miles from shore. The [...]
One of the world’s largest banks, London-based HSBC (NYSE: HBC) issued last September a very interesting research report entitled “Sizing the Climate Economy”. At less than 60 pages, it’s an excellent read for those interested in the future growth of the advanced energy economy. There are really too many highlights to capture all of them in this [...]
Volkswagen’s “Think Small” is ranked as the most successful campaign in advertising history according to AdAge.com. The ad campaign ranks ahead of iconic Nike’s “Just do it,” Clairol’s “Does she … or doesn’t she,” and Apple’s “1984.” VW’s agency DDB launched the “Think Small” campaign in 1959. The VW Beetle soared in popularity at the same time that GM, Ford and Chrysler cars were expanding, adding weight and growing fins.
by David Niebauer In the tradition of starting off the New Year with a resolution, I have decided to go large this year. I predict that 2012 will be the year that low energy nuclear reaction technology (LENR), also known as “cold fusion,” breaks out of the lab and into the commercial market. I hereby [...]
It’s that time again: sifting through the detritus of a calendar year to sum up what’s happened over the past 12 months. Everybody’s doing it — for news, sports, movies, books, notable deaths…and now even for cleantech: here’s the scoop from MIT’s Technology Review, and here’s a post on GigaOM. So, my turn [drum roll, please], here’s [...]
The oil gas ratio hit a new record high December 27th with gas trading at $3.11/mmBtu and WTI going for $101.25/bbl yielding an energy ratio of 5.61. In simple terms this means gas is trading at the equivalent of $18.05/bbl crude. The market is starting to notice this rapid shift in natural gas economics. Back [...]
When Ron Pernick co-founded the green-tech market research company Clean Edge back in 2000, he made a bold prediction. By 2010, he said, solar power would be a $23.5 billion industry. To say that Pernick’s prediction was greeted with skepticism is somewhat of an understatement. In 2000, sales of photovoltaics (PVs) totaled $2.5 billion, worldwide. [...]
For the uninitiated, “nanotechnology” refers to the science of the very small, engineering particles and their corresponding materials at the nanometer scale. For a sense of perspective, at one-billionth of a meter, a nanometer is about 1/60,000 of the width of a human hair, so we’re talking engineering not just at the microscopic scale, but the [...]
By Bill Paul What a coincidence that as ExxonMobil’s interest in shale gas grows, the company declares, in its latest long-term energy forecast, that it has seen the future and it is natural gas. Or as the Wall Street Journal put it, “Exxon Declares Gas King” Every clean tech advocate and investor should beware [...]
On January 13, 1994 the ratio(*) of the price of oil to the price of natural gas was 1.14. Today it hit a record high over this period of 5.26. Gas traded at $3.28 today, just 21% of the $15.38 / mmBtu it traded for on December 13, 2005. Shale gas is providing gas in [...]
I generally like creating my own content, riffing off other newsy material I find in the print or electronic press, but sometimes someone writes such good stuff that it’s really hard to improve on it. This is one of those times. Also, sometimes I’m just too busy to come up with original material or do [...]
Long a dream of environmentalists, and long a laughing-stock among car enthusiasts because of lame designs (e.g., GM’s EV1 and a long litany of goofy looking vehicles that look like a cross-breed between golf carts and toys), electric vehicles (EVs) are finally starting to make a real impact in the mass-market auto marketplace. Of all the electric vehicles, [...]
It’s December again (how did that happen!?) and our annual time for reflection here at Kachan & Co. So as we close out 2011, let’s look towards what the new year may have in store for cleantech. There are eggshells across the sector for 2012. Global economic uncertainty in particular is leaving some skeptical about [...]
By Assaad Razzouk On Thursday 10 November 2011, I spoke at an OECD / IEA workshop in Paris entitled “Expert workshop on tracking climate finance flows from the private sector and multilateral development banks.” Despite the dry title, the topic is of great significance: Developed countries have a collective commitment under the December 2010 Cancun [...]
This is the 4th year of the Cleantech Blog Power 10 Ranking of cleantech companies doing it right. Before we make our selection, I’d love this year to read any recommendations you’d like to send. Check out Volume III for 2010 for ideas, but don’t be dissuaded from sending suggestions. Eligibility for inclusion in the [...]
