If you haven’t tuned into it yet, the 2nd annual Clean-Tech Investor Summit is upon us, to be held Feb. 1-2, 2006 in Rancho Mirage, CA. The event is co-produced by my firm, Clean Edge. Last year’s event sold out, and this one should, too. This year’s Summit features a solid line-up venture and private [...]
I read a article (see below) recently about the state of the river dams in the US. The article quoted a number of something like 80,000 large dams. Article on Old Dams The author seems quite concerned in the wake of Katrina about the safety and replacement of aging dams. With good reason, as dating [...]
Practical experience reveals that energy is a firm’s third-highest cost. Businesses are looking for the means to reduce costs, increase profits and satisfy ever-increasing demands to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and preserve the environment. With America’s commercial business sector leading demand, the cost of providing energy to the nation’s business and residential consumers is expected [...]
I want to welcome our new blogger – Mark Bitterman, the Editor of Superconductor Week. Mark is the leading journalist and writer on the superconductor industry. He is the Executive Editor of Superconductor Week, which is the most comprehensive and widely read newsletter covering the technology and commercialization of superconductors. Superconductor Week does original reporting, [...]
In 1986, high temperature superconductors (HTS) were discovered, capable of conducting electricity with zero resistance at a relatively warm -196 Celsius (-321 Fahrenheit). This presented the possibility of developing new generation of devices employing the extraordinary properties of superconductors using inexpensive liquid nitrogen as a coolant. Since then, efforts around the world have worked to [...]
To many people who are passionate environmentalists, the words “clean” and “coal” couldn’t be more polarized opposites. The thought of coal directly implies powerplant smokestacks belching carbon dioxide emissions and other pollutants. Certainly, it is true that coal-burning powerplants have historically been largely responsible for high quantities of sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxide emissions that [...]
There is more bad news for cleantech startups looking for an easy time of it in the solar business. Honda has announced it is entering the solar business and will start shipping from a 27.5 MW plant next year. Good news perhaps, for the industry overall, further validating that we are in a massive growth [...]
Ah, the usual pundit’s retrospective at the end of the year. Here’s my take on the top 10 most significant developments in 2005 for the cleantech industry, in the usual descending Letterman format: 10. The Energy Policy Act. Sure, it’s a dog’s breakfast of incoherent and often contradicting provisions. And, it’s the most painfully arduous [...]
Catching in on two booms – the boom in Chinese firms headed to the US stock exchanges, and the boom in solar IPOs, Suntech Power, has filed to list on Nasdaq. They are raising $300 mm in ADRs, and reporting revenues of the last 9 months of $137 mm 13% profit. That puts them in [...]
TXU just announced that it is spending $150 mm over 10 years to roll-out power line carriage or BPL (broadband over power lines) – delivery of broadband internet access of powerlines. TXU Article. This a major win for cleantech investors, and could add a new player to the crowded world of highspeed internet access. The [...]
I have just returned from a trip to London to evaluate some business opportunities in carbon trading stemming from the commencement of the Kyoto protocol. I was surprised by the level and intensity of interest in this market. A few relevant trends I noticed: Significant interest by investors in carbon and emissions trading. Including numerous [...]
The consulting firm Capgemini recently polled 125 senior energy executives on a variety of topics concerning the future of the energy industry. Capgemini Energy Executive Survey Press Release Among the interesting questions and responses in the poll were: 1. “What is the technology that has the greatest potential to transform the energy industry by 2015?” [...]
Last Tuesday night, I had the pleasure of attending the holiday party and opening celebration for the Boulder office of the Rocky Mountain Institute. Rocky Mountain Institute Web Site For those who may not be familiar, RMI was founded by Dr. Amory Lovins, one of the few people in the energy arena who truly deserves [...]
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 [...]
