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 [...]
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 [...]
It’s long been on the short-list of things that keep utility planners and security experts awake at night: hackers find a way to enter the control system of critical infrastructure and command it against the interests of users. Well, it appears to have finally happened: in early November, a small water utility in downstate Illinois reportedly experienced a [...]
In the November/December issue of EnergyBiz, you will find an unusual contributor to a magazine about the utility sector: Bob McDonald, CEO of Proctor & Gamble (NYSE: PG). Being one of the largest, most successful and savviest consumer marketing companies, P&G is often considered by utility companies as a model for how to develop and market new products or [...]
One of the hottest cleantech investment segments in recent years has been home energy management (HEM). HEM technologies enable households to remotely and/or more wisely manage their energy use, enabling lower consumption for equivalent (or better) quality of life: climate control, lighting, entertainment, cooking, etc. In the space of just a week or so, two of [...]
Our Promising Future of Renewable Energy The cleanest solutions to global warming, air pollution and energy security are wind, water, and solar power (WWS). As Dr. Mark Jacobson walks me through the numbers of his, Dr. Mark Delucchi, and their teams’ multi-year study, the renewable energy solution stands out as the clear winner. Dr. Jacobson [...]
…someone invents an economically-competitive energy storage technology that could be deployed at any electricity substation at megawatt-hour scale? …the power grid were brought up to 21st Century standards to match the true power quality needs of our increasingly digital society? …high-speed rail was not the exclusive province of Europe and Asia? …customers had real choice [...]
As a reporter and analyst, I wrote about hundreds of cleantech companies. As a managing director of the Cleantech Group, I spent years listening to hundreds of pitches, coached companies on presenting to institutional investors and helped facilitate cleantech deals around the world. Just last month, I served on a committee at the request of the Canadian [...]
Media Contact: Sarah Grolnic-McClurg Thinkshift Communications/Pounce PR sarah@pounce-pr.com 510-898-1837 (SEATTLE, March 1, 2011) Powerit Solutions, an international cleantech company that plugs energy-intensive businesses into the smart grid, today announced two actions that will fuel the firm’s continued growth and development. Effective March 7, 2011, Matthew J. Schiltz, a seasoned chief executive, will serve as group [...]
By Andrew Longenecker, guest contributor The TomKat Center for Sustainable Energy’s “Grid Integration of Renewables” conference, which took place at Stanford University’s Jen-Hsun Engineering Center on January 13, 2011, brought together professionals and students to discuss various aspects of the integration of intermittent sources of power to the grid. The conference facilitated the discussion on [...]
Obviously, “cost causer pays” is not going to get the job done. We need a national energy policy with a strong transmission and distribution grid upgrade component. The task is complicated by overlapping and sometimes competing federal and state objectives, but failing to act is simply not an option. Both financial and policy incentives must be made clear for stakeholders so that the greenpower superhighway that many envision can become a reality.
Yes, your electric utility will be ready to charge your new electric car if you live in the right city. Your odds improve if you live in one of 18 cities, own a house that uses air conditioning, has a garage, and have new underground power lines. If you live in an apartment with no garage, especially in a non-priority city, then get ready to be a brave pioneer. My report from the GTM Research and Greentech Media’s Networked EV conference.
It’s been a long year and a half or so since we published our last Cleantech Blog Power 5 on the top investors in cleantech. Time for round two. As usual the criteria for inclusion. Investor made a significant contribution to the cleantech investment sector More smart looking investments than stupid looking investments On balance, I’d [...]
Software is not the only Smart Grid play. Developments in Power Flow Control – hardware wedded to power electronics – promise to increase the capacity of the existing electric transmission grid, thereby allowing the system to operate more efficiently for lower infrastructure costs. Controlling the flow of electrons in order to improve the existing system can and is being done. As the Smart Grid is built out, watch for companies that design and build the hardware that all the software is being designed to control.
The Age of the Smart Grid is upon us. Huge amounts of capital are being and will be deployed over the next decade and beyond in upgrading the nation’s power grid. Both the political and financial will appears to be behind Smart Grid deployment. Fortunes will be made in this arena, and our lives will all be changed for the better through the intelligent delivery of more efficient and cleaner energy. By David Niebauer, www.davidniebauer.com
Venture capitalists, cleantech executives, and technology experts are optimistic about continued growth for cleantech. With the recession and a clear message from voters, projects requiring billions from taxpayers and/or large customer capital expenditure (capex) are out. Energy efficiency with large and fast ROI is growing rapidly. Distributed solar is outpacing large power plants including utility-scale solar. Smart grids with billions of nodes are the backbone for our future.
by Richard T. Stuebi Being a senior advisor to the firm, I attended last week’s annual meeting of Craton Equity Partners, a cleantech private equity fund manager based in Los Angeles. While cleantech in its focus, Craton doesn’t take on much technology risk. Rather, Craton generally invests in companies that have largely proven their technologies [...]
by Richard T. Stuebi While battery technology has been the subject of intensive focus for vehicular applications since the emergence of hybrid electric vehicles over the past few years, much less attention has been paid to batteries for the electric grid. Although energy storage for the power grid offers great promise to augment the smart [...]
By John Addison GE Smart Charging Stations for Electric Cars General Electric intends to be the leader in smart grid charging of electric vehicles. GE’s Watt Station EV Charger was personally unveiled today by CEO Jeff Immelt. Globally, GE already helps thousands of electric utilities be more efficient in generating power and in distributing power. [...]
by Richard T. Stuebi One of the virtues touted for the so-called “smart grid” of the future is the ability to help customers manage their appliance usage better, and thereby reduce unnecessary energy consumption. However, since people are heavily influenced by economic considerations, fully capturing this opportunity presupposes that customers understand how much money (= [...]
