In contrast to ExxonMobil (whom I’ve ripped in a previous post), BP recently announced a significant increase in commitment — meaning, capital investment — in alternative energy. BP Press Release In forming the new business unit BP Alternative Energy, BP CEO Lord Browne also indicated an expected $1.8 billion of investment over the next 3 [...]

The core technology in PEM fuel cells remains the MEA and membrane. Stack technology is becoming a commodity. But the solution to a low cost long term durable high performance membrane is elusive. The major player Dupont still owns this market with their nafion category of products. Several challengers have risen to try their hand, [...]

You know there’s a real opportunity to cost-effectively reduce energy consumption when the CEO of a supermajor oil company (David O’Reilly of Chevron) argues in national advertisements that improvements in efficiency must become an increasingly significant factor in meeting future energy needs. As additional evidence, consider the following recent letter to President Bush from Robert [...]

Oil prices continue a downward spiral. Oil has dropped to $58 from a high of $70. We have been saying on Cleantechblog for sometime that the oil market was overheated. Big questions of the day – how does this impact cleantech? A couple of quick thoughts. – Can a prolonged slide in oil prices and [...]

Even though I daily read many items of professional interest, very rarely do I come across a piece so important and cogently written that I forward it to a long list of friends and family in an effort to educate and shape opinions among a broader public. This week, I encountered a superb synopsis of [...]

One of the most disturbing things about the solar industry, the rising star of cleantech, has been its recent rising prices. According to the SolarBuzz.com survey, module prices are up close to 7% in the US this last year, after years of falling. The main culprits according to most solar watchers are a combination of: [...]

I just returned from the Dawnbreaker technology commercialization conference. The conference is supported by the DOE, and is one of the oldest cleantech technology forums around. Dawnbreaker had over 50 companies and 100+ strategics in attendance, and a number of very interesting technologies. Among the more interesting in energy technology: Alzeta Corporation was there showing [...]

A new report from a group with a horrifically unwieldy name — the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21) — indicates a record level of investment in renewable energy worldwide. REN21 Report “Renewables 2005: A Global Status Report” The lead author of the report Eric Montinot claims that “Renewable energy has become [...]

ExxonMobil was the subject of a none-too-flattering profile recently in USA Today, which documented the company’s long-standing opposition to investing in renewable energy technology development: USA Today Article Subsequent to running the article, letters to the USA Today editors indicated at least some citizen outrage at ExxonMobil for their shortsighted view. No doubt as a [...]

Global investments in renewable energy seem to be growing faster than any of us thought. If current trends continue, we’ll soon be seeing the hockey-stick-shaped growth curves that have become iconic shorthand in technology sectors for hyper-paced growth. According to a report released today (Download – PDF) by the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the [...]

Ford Motor Company recently announced a partnership to push new fueling stations for its ethanol-ready fleet of 1 million vehicles. Ford Ethanol Article. The actual fuel is E85, a blend of 85% ethanol, 15% gasoline. I view this as a major win for cleantech. The future for clean fuels is not hydrogen, electric, or gasoline [...]

The French government has announced plans to spin-off 15% of Electricité de France, one of the largest utilities in the world, to the public markets. As IPOs go, this is going to be a big one. With over US$50 Bil in revenues, EDF is larger than American heavyweights Duke and AEP combined. As these types [...]

I couldn’t resist reporting on this one. A little one man Chinese investment company registered in New Zealand announced a takeover bid for ExxonMobil at at 25% premium to its current shareprice. Article on Takeover. The company is called King Win Laurel International Ltd, is basically a guy in his house, and previously made offers [...]

I have long been an advocate of true, effective deregulation of the electricity industry. Of course, when typically uttered in the context of the power sector, the word “deregulation” conjures up images of the California experience of the 1998-2002 era — which was an abomination involving government intervention against market forces at many levels, and [...]

Opponents of renewable energy are quick to point out with disdain that renewable energy sources wouldn’t be viable without subsidies. As one who tends to hate subsidies because of their tendency to create perverse market distortions, as well as their spurious on-again/off-again nature (e.g., wind PTC circa 1999-2004), I am sympathetic to arguments that employ [...]

The realization that America’s electricity infrastructure is shakier than a palm tree during a hurricane hits us every few years, when some blackout or rolling brownout reminds us of our electro-vulnerability. But to truly understand what we’re up against, it’s important to step back for a moment to see just how vast — and how [...]

Crude oil futures dipped lower this week, just below $60/barrel. MSN article. That’s now down 15% off of the hurricane induced high. US inventories, both crude and gasoline, are up by several measures. Apparently the market’s previous concerns over US production glitches following Katrina and Rita were at least somewhat overstated, especially given emergency supply [...]

SB-1, California’s hot topic million solar roofs bill, lost out last month. A definite setback to the solar industry here. I’m personally in favor of the solar roof bill, but some of the analysis around it was a little odd. A couple of months ago a solar company called Akeena, put out a whitepaper saying [...]

I have spent the last couple of days at the EESAT 2005 Conference in San Francisco, hosted by the Electrical Storage Association with Sandia Labs and the DOE. The forum was focused mainly on large scale storages schemes. It was a long running well run forum, done every two years, 150+ attendance. Frankly, about the [...]

Structured energy project finance has been relatively commonplace in supporting the development of new energy facilities over the past 20 years. Central to the concept of project finance is disaggregating risk and parceling it out to specific parties who can accept that risk. As a result, project finance works great for the 30th or 40th [...]