Is the Bush Administration continuing to weaken our environmental regulations? By and large the US has been getting cleaner and more environmentally friendly on a per unit basis for the past 30 years. This is a good thing, though we still have a long way to go. I think that the future of power in [...]
Toyota today announced it was recalling and repairing 75,000 Prius cars due to engine stalling. I think that is on the order of half of their total fleet. It doesn’t sound like a big fix is required, but certainly a massive PR setback for the most popular hybrid our there. I’ve personally been waiting for [...]
Small cap cleantech IPOs have been especially hot lately, and definitely global. The big cleantech news seems like that the whole world is getting in on the IPO game. It’s not just in the US, the equity markets in Australia, on the ASX, and the London AIM exchange have lots of activity. The other striking [...]
In his columns featured in New Power Executive, Professor Robert Michaels of Cal State Fullerton is usually good for ruffling a few feathers. Recently, he took on the issue of renewable portfolio standards, with his typical contrarian stance that they are an abomination. In defense of his position, Prof. Michaels leaned heavily on the work [...]
I’m gratified Neil Dikeman invited me to contribute to the CleanTech Blog. I may sometimes duplicate what I say at Power, Plugs and People at HybridCars.com. I thought I’d start with a backgrounder that will bring readers up to speed about plug-in hybrids, the existing-technology solution that has been the subject of much attention in [...]
Oil prices are made up of components, supply and demand. The market tends to forecast near term supply for oil reasonably well. There is a lot of data out there, and a lot of smart people crunching it. The big bugaboo in predicting oil prices, however, is forecasting short term demand. The main variables in [...]
I just wanted to put a plug in for the Cleantech Forum in Melbourne, Australia in late Novemeber. I am moderating one of the panels on investing. The founder, Jeffrey Castellas, has been looking to make a splash in cleantech for some time. I am excited to see he is doing it in Australia, as [...]
I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Peter Fusaro in New York to discuss the evolution of the energy and environmental marketplace. For those of you who know Peter, spending time with him is akin to drinking triple-shot espresso out of a fire hydrant — a mixed metaphor perhaps, but one that should [...]
The Cleantech Venture Network is now streaming several Cleantech blogs on their site, Cleantech.com. The stream is heavy on the technology investment and venture capital content at the moment, but several good blogs are already streamed there. Check it out. We at Cleantechblog are big fans, and support all the Cleantech Venture Network is doing [...]
The AP did an article today about Hugo Chavez’s desire to use its oil supply to tie the rest of South America to Venezuela at the expense of the US. Basically, Chavez is looking to pull other South American countries into a free trade zone centered around Venezuela, and counteract US efforts to create a [...]
Two weeks ago I blogged about the German inventor supposedly using dead cats as feedstock in a biodiesel process. This week the amusing bio fuel story is about French nonsense. Apparently the French government does not exactly permit drivers to use vegetable oil in cars, but a large number of French citizens are doing so [...]
It’s called the World Solar Challenge, and a Dutch team has won for each of the past 2 races. I know it’s not exactly the near term future of the automotive industry, but I still get a kick out of it. Especially since we do a lot of work with Australian companies. 11 teams drive [...]
The title of this post (without the question mark) was the title of September’s monthly American Bar Association renewable energy teleconference. For those who are interested, I recommend listening into these inexpensive monthly sessions to remain current on renewable energy developments. American Bar Association renewables link Of particular interest in this past week’s biofuels conference [...]
It’s becoming increasingly clear that the biggest energy challenges now facing both industry and society at large relate to oil. About once a week, it seems that some event — Hurricane Katrina, the Iraq conflict, rattling sabers from Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, OPEC meetings — sends the oil markets into a frenzy, with oil prices [...]
In this new survey report, it is striking how many of the utility execs are wishfully thinking that the world won’t pull the rug out from under them, where other industry participants see that dramatically different futures need to be considered, even if they may be somewhat lower on the probability scale. Note particularly the [...]
The Tirade: We need to achieve low oil prices, and ensure that no one country is able to control our fuel supply. We have just passed a new Energy Bill. It does not do so. What we do need to do: Drop the ANWR fight and instead break the back of OPEC, slash consumption, and [...]
According to a Bloomberg article picked up by Fuel Cell Today, Toyota has announced its goal of an “all-hybrid” fleet. I think Toyota is rapidly becoming THE powerhouse in clean vehicles. Toyota Hybrid Article Toyota is the world’s second largest auto maker. It is largest producer of hybrid vehicles, and doesn’t seem like it intends [...]
Talk about odd. I was really not sure what to think about this one. I guess this is for all you waste to energy guys to chase down in your spare time. This German inventor (who denies it) is supposed to have told a reporter in an article picked up by Reuters that he has [...]
Cleantech.org is a a new web portal launching soon as a meeting and resource place for people like us who are looking to commercialize technologies relating to energy and the environment, whether in fuel cells, solar, environmental remediation, water purification, alternative energy, power, wind, renewables, green building, or anything else of similar bent. My company, [...]
I read a lot of sites related to energy technology. A few of them really standout, so I wanted to share them with you. http://www.nrel.govThe site for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, CO. NREL is where huge amounts of our tax dollars get spent looking at wacky new solar technologies or the latest [...]
