VentureBeat

Roundup: Microsoft and News Corp. plot Google’s demise, Taptu and Google Maps Navigation hop on Android, and more

Here’s the latest action:

Amazon Web Services now calculates your app costs — To give users a better idea of how their applications will work and how much they will cost to run on Amazon Web Services, the company has just released a redesign of its AWS Simple Monthly Calculator. This tool allows users to select their regions and services in order to generate a customized quote.

Google Maps Navigation comes to Android — Owners of phones running Android… Continue Reading

Solar costs set to plummet 50% by year’s end

The cost of solar equipment has been falling over the past several months, but now it looks like cost of solar-generated electricity will drop about 50 percent from where it was at the end of 2008, according to a new report from research firm New Energy Finance.

The firm’s prediction is based on two observations: First, that prices for solar modules, panels and components have been getting lower and lower; and second, that as the economy… Continue Reading

IPO talk revs up for Tesla Motors

Rumors are swirling today that Tesla Motors is seriously considering an initial public offering sometime soon. The talk has been tracked to two anonymous sources, who say the six-year-old company could cash in big on the battery-powered car trend before electric and hybrid models from companies like General Motors, Mitsubishi and Nissan make it to market.

Tesla has officially denied the prediction, calling the IPO chatter “rumor and speculation.” That said, going public in 2010 would… Continue Reading

Google gobbles display ad startup Teracent

Google is growing its display advertising business today with the acquisition of Teracent, a startup that provides companies with tools for customizing display ads like web banners and interactive modules. Still making most of its revenue from text ads listed next to search results, the tech giant sees display as the next biggest area of opportunity.

Right now, Google is actually coming in second to Yahoo in display advertising — having only launched its strategy in… Continue Reading

GreenBeat: Big thank you and media roundup

Thanks to everyone who made it out to GreenBeat 2009 yesterday and Wednesday!

We were thrilled with the turnout, and couldn’t be more grateful for all the support we received from attendees, speakers, sponsors and the press. It’s clear that the Smart Grid has gained the momentum it needs for serious work to be done, and we are excited to play a big role in this conversation going forward.

With Al Gore, and several of the biggest… Continue Reading

GreenBeat: Live-blogging Nobel Prize winner Al Gore

Straight from VentureBeat’s GreenBeat 2009 event, we bring you former vice president and Nobel Prize winner Al Gore. I’ll be live-blogging this session — so it won’t be perfect or word-for-word, but it will be fast! We’ll pull out the gems as soon as we can.

Laura Ipsen, Cisco Systems’ smart grid guru is introducing Al Gore right now, highlighting his many achievements and awards. He’s been a mentor for Cisco in linking climate change to… Continue Reading

GreenBeat: Cisco has a blank check for Smart Grid, but what will it do with it?

Cisco Systems put no limit on its budget for Smart Grid development,  the company’s grid guru Laura Ipsen told the audience at GreenBeat 2009 — albeit quoting her boss John Chambers.

The question now is what Cisco (a GreenBeat 2009 sponsor) will use that money for — currently, it looks like the company is racing to get in on every nook and cranny of the Smart Grid business, from hardware to IP networks to cybersecurity measures…. Continue Reading

GreenBeat: Khosla warns against Smart Grid hype, pushes storage

“I’m not skeptical that the Smart Grid should exist,” famed Silicon Valley investor Vinod Khosla said, kicking off his conversation with VentureBeat editor Matt Marshall at VentureBeat’s GreenBeat 09 event today. “I wouldn’t be here if I was.” Khosla has been unofficially dubbed a Smart Grid skeptic because his venture firm, Khosla Ventures, has yet to make a significant investment in the space. He says he has been avidly scouting for a Smart Grid startup… Continue Reading

GreenBeat: Locust, CPower tie for grand prize in Innovation Competition

The winners of the inaugural GreenBeat Innovation Competition — a survey of the most promising technologies and companies working toward a cleaner, more efficient grid — were just announced following four-minute presentations from the top eleven finalists (”eleven is the new ten”). Locust Storage, while launched its innovative storage system today, and demand response provider CPower declared victory, winning a slot at the DEMO Spring conference in 2010.

The winner were selected by a panel of… Continue Reading

GreenBeat: Utilities eye their own ‘iTunes App Stores’ for Smart Grid apps

“Every utility will have its own version of the iTunes App Store,” said Austin Energy, CIO of Austin Energy, during this morning’s utility panel at GreenBeat 2009 in San Mateo, Calif. — essentially, every major utility, in order to be at the cutting edge of the Smart Grid, will need to have a full portfolio of applications that can help their customers trim their energy use and their monthly bills. This has become vitally important,… Continue Reading

GreenBeat: Brace yourselves, electricity prices will rise over next 10-30 years, Duke CEO Jim Rogers says

“In the last 50 years, electricity prices have been flat — in the next 10 to 30, the price of electricity is going to rise,” said Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers in conversation with Matter Network’s John Gartner at GreenBeat 2009 this evening. “This is going to lead to a lot of frustration from consumers and political reactions,” he continues. The key, he says, is how utilities, their customers and governments respond to this increase.

Duke,… Continue Reading

GreenBeat: Accenture’s Sharon Allan says U.S. needs to play catch-up in cleantech

Sharon Allan, leader of Accenture’s North America Smart Grid practice, took the stage at GreenBeat2009 to present results to the firm’s survey on attitudes toward and responses to climate change and initiatives to battle global warming. Unsurprisingly, her major points also pointed to the U.S. falling behind other developed countries in battling the emission of greenhouse gases, and supporting the innovations and policies needed to slash carbon output — something John Doerr also decried in… Continue Reading

GreenBeat: Doerr wants to see more U.S. leadership in smart grid, cleantech

“Ten years out we want lamps that use 2 percent the energy and put out the same amount of light,” Doerr said at the beginning of his talk at GreenBeat 2009 today — indicative of his interest and that of his firm, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers in the newest, boldest investments when it comes to cleantech and the grid.

He began the conversation with VentureBeat editor Matt Marshall by comparing the evolution of the Smart… Continue Reading

Verizon expands Smart Grid play, launches consulting

Verizon is already eying opportunities to provide wireless networks for Smart Grid communication systems, but today it’s expanding its presence in the space even more with the launch of a security consulting service for utilities rolling out smart meters and other advanced grid infrastructure.

Security is one of the foremost concerns as utilities and other companies work on building a cleaner, more efficient grid. With so much energy consumption data flying by on wireless networks, it… Continue Reading

GreenBeat speaker EcoFactor takes top honors Cleantech Open

Making the rounds of Smart Grid events (and there are quite a few of them this season), smart thermostat company EcoFactor nabbed the $250,000 grand prize in yesterday’s Cleantech Open business plan competition. EcoFactor’s Scott Hublou will be speaking today at GreenBeat 2009.

Based in San Francisco, the company provides software allowing two-way thermostats to automate HVAC systems according to consumer preferences. After EcoFactor is installed — which it soon will be for a pilot-sized group… Continue Reading

GreenBeat dives into the Smart Grid in T-3 hours!

The seminal conference on the Smart Grid has arrived.

Our two-day inaugural GreenBeat conference kicks off this afternoon at the San Mateo Marriott, bringing together 400 utility, finance, political and entrepreneurial leaders working to make our electrical grid cleaner, reliable and more efficient.

This is the first time we’ve seen the entire Silicon Valley community converge around a cleantech issue. And we’re not just talking about the usual suspects. Everyone from big corporate hitters like Cisco Systems… Continue Reading

GreenBeat: Google’s Lu, OPower’s Yates join the program

There’s one day to go before GreenBeat 2009 takes off, and we’re still adding Smart Grid experts to the agenda. Rounding out the program, we have Google PowerMeter engineer (and former astronaut!) Ed Lu, and OPower CEO Dan Yates, each adding their own brand of expertise to the conversation on consumer-facing energy management solutions: What will change consumer behavior? What do people really want to know about their energy use? Hear answers to these questions… Continue Reading

U.S., China announce clean energy pact

President Barack Obama is in Beijing today, working with Chinese President Hu Jintao on a number of issues pertaining to U.S.-China relations. One of the prime areas of concern: Climate change — how the two biggest emitters of greenhouse gases can collaborate to turn around global warming. As a start, the two leaders announced an ambitious list of agreements to accelerate the transition to clean energy in both countries.

The U.S. Department of Energy has listed… Continue Reading

PG&E lawsuit spreads down Smart Grid supply chain

Last week, we reported on the lawsuit being filed against Pacific Gas & Electric for price hikes seemingly caused by installation of smart meters in the Bakersfield area of California. Now the plaintiff’s attorneys say that PG&E’s suppliers should also be sued — a who’s who of Smart Grid companies including General Electric, meter maker Landis+Gyr and communications provider Silver Spring Networks.

The original plaintiff, Bakersfield resident Pete Flores, filed the suit after his electric bill… Continue Reading

GreenBeat 2009: Hot opportunities for startups, investors

GreenBeat 2009 may be the first conference we’ve hosted in the environmental space, but it wouldn’t be a VentureBeat event without emphasis on investors and innovators. Our Innovation Competition will spotlight some of the most promising technologies and business models in the Smart Grid business, hopefully attracting the right backers.

On Thursday, Nov. 19, our “Follow the Money” panel will give some of the most active investors in the grid a chance to talk about what… Continue Reading