From the inevitability dept.: Dow debuts solar shingles

Dow Chemical says it is ready for its thin-film solar roofing shingles to go on sale next year — one of the first technologies to make solar panels and roofs one and the same, and a step toward increasing the affordability and physical appeal of going solar for residential consumers.

Dubbed the “Powerhouse” line, the shingles do for rooftop solar what Apple has done for mobile phones: make functional look sexy.

But not so fast. … Continue Reading

Kenya looks to Asian investors to build out geothermal, takes another $97M

When drought struck Kenya last year, the lights went out too.

The country depends on hydroelectric energy for 65 percent of its electricity. So when water became scarce, people started burning diesel to make up the difference. The cost of using fossil fuels was astronomical, single-handedly sinking whole communities into poverty.

To ensure that drought never takes this huge toll again, the Kenyan government is building up its geothermal resources. In February, it took in … Continue Reading

Electric car batteries: The new cleantech bubble?

The electric vehicle battery industry will cave in by 2017, according to a new report that predicts massive oversupply — basically too many batteries for too few cars on the road.

Published by German consulting firm Roland Berger, the report estimates that only six or seven of about 60 worldwide EV lithium-ion battery makers will survive the decade. That includes recent American upstarts like A123Systems and Valence Technologies. The field will literally be decimated.

Johnson … Continue Reading

Sick of coal, China boosts its nuclear goals by 50 percent

China is scaling up its nuclear power plans in a big way. Its goal is to build 70 gigawatts worth of nuclear capacity by 2020 — 50 percent higher than its 2020 target was five years ago. It looks like uranium, still unpopular in the U.S. is finding big fans in Asia.

Achieving this goal will cost the country as much as $59 billion for 28 more reactors — 20 of which are already in … Continue Reading

South Africa still hooked on coal, and plans to stay that way

South Africa’s economy has grown by two-thirds since 1994 and its demand for electricity has kept pace. But, despite near-perfect wind conditions, its minister of finance, Pravhin Gordhan, has decided to keep coal at the heart of the country’s energy policy.

Here’s his logic:

1. Local coal resources are abundant and cheap.
2. Coal plants can be built faster and require less maintenance than nuclear reactors.
3. Brownouts are not an option in South Africa. … Continue Reading

DEMO: Fliptop to rock the RSS world and streamline it, too

Fliptop is one of 65 companies chosen by VentureBeat to launch at the DEMO Spring 2010 event taking place this week. These companies do pay a fee to present, but our coverage of them remains objective.

Fliptop aims to solve the subscription problem for both websites and their audiences.

RSS feeds, Google Alerts and the like are tools with two edges. The first cuts out the mindless web browsing, letting you scan headlines without visiting … Continue Reading

DEMO: MightyMeeting keeps your A-game close, your Powerpoint closer

MightyMeeting is one of 65 companies chosen by VentureBeat to launch at the DEMO Spring 2010 event taking place this week. These companies do pay a fee to present, but our coverage of them remains objective.

Where professionals once had overflowing filing cabinets and oversized atache cases for presentation graphics, we now have overflowing inboxes and cloud storage. One problem remains the same: How do you find what you need when you need it? The … Continue Reading

Despite advances, LED market probably volatile for two more years

Unquestionably, the major obstacle for indoor, or household-friendly light-emitting diodes is price. No matter how long a bulb lasts, nobody wants to spend $30 on one light. Exacerbating the situation, there are too many competing uses for LEDs, according to electronics market research firm iSuppli, slowing their development for home use.

Back-lighting for televisions is a huge growth market for LEDs, with 2.5 million LED-lit sets manufactured in 2009, and an estimated 25 million to … Continue Reading

Nissan gets 56K pre-orders for Leaf EV, challenges Tesla

Nissan says it has more than 56,000 pre-orders for the Leaf, its fully-electric model set to be released to the mass market in 2012. Just last November, the Nissan-led Electrification Coalition lobbied the U.S. government to fund electric vehicle projects. CEO Carlos Ghosn plans to sell the Leaf to fleet first to operators like taxi companies and governments as well. By 2013, Nissan will build a half million Leaf vehicles globally, he told BusinessWeek.

For … Continue Reading

Pike Research: Energy managment market still largely unexplored

Despite everything the U.S. Department of Energy, President Barack Obama and common sense say, energy efficiency just isn’t very sexy. Energy management systems have fantastic rates of return — saving thousands, if not millions. And Cash upfront for installation yields much lower energy bills in the future. But energy management systems are still only penetrating 14 percent of the potential market, according to a new report from Pike Research.

For context, energy management systems do … Continue Reading

Prudent scores $22M to rival EnerVault in grid-scale storage

Prudent Energy, a Beijing-based maker of large-capacity flow batteries, has raised a $22 million third round of venture funding. Its products may be too heavy for use in plug-in vehicles, but the company could very likely become a key player in grid storage, both in China and the U.S.

A truly international affair, its batteries were actually designed by a Canadian startup VRB Power Systems, which Prudent acquired in 2009. Because its manufacturing operations are … Continue Reading

New Calif. bill would mandate grid storage for peak periods

A new bill pitched in the California Assembly would mandate that 2.25 percent of the power used during peak hours be stored and essentially on-tap by 2014. By 2020, utilities would be required to store 5 percent of their peak loads. This may not sound like much, but the change could mean massive investment in energy storage systems and innovation.

The ability to use stored energy during peak hours is becoming increasingly important as people … Continue Reading

Enerkem takes $51 million for advanced biofuel projects

Enerkem, the Canadian bio fuels company, believes it can sell carbon-neutral fuels for cheap and do so while removing trash from landfills. The company has taken $51 million in funding including investment from Waste Management of Houston. Garbage and bio fuels go together like peas and carrots, with a waste-to-fuels facility in Mississippi set to help Enerkem spend its new money.

On the other hand, Advanced biofuels have been getting a bad name from ActionAid … Continue Reading

ActionAid: E.U. biofuel targets could lead to widespread hunger

The European Union’s renewable energy targets, if achieved, will lead to widespread hunger, according to a new report published by ActionAid.org. With many farmers ceding their land to biofuel companies, food costs are on the rise, and millions more people in the developing world are going without, the nonprofit claims — all the while industrialized countries are pushing hard for cheaper, sustainable fuels.

In 2008, the E.U. set a quota for itself — that 20 … Continue Reading

Eden Park scores $2M to bring LED alternative to market

Eden Park Illumination has officially entered the efficient lighting fray, scoring $2 million in new venture capital, and a $750,000 grant from the U.S. Air Force, according to Dow Jones Clean Technology Insight. It is pitching a microplasma lighting fixture that could save more energy than incandescent bulbs, while remaining less expensive than light-emitting diodes.

Based in Champaign, Ill., the company plans to use the new money to commercialize its flagship product: a 36 square-inch … Continue Reading

IBM, Broadband up efficiency and drop costs with thin-film solar experiments

Recent advances in materials and design have resulted in thin-film solar modules that are more efficient and affordable than ever. Now IBM has developed its own thin-film product that uses common metals instead of pricey silicon. And a Stanford spinoff called Broadband Solar is using cheaper amorphous silicon coatings toward the same end.

Amorphous silicon coatings have been proven to up solar module efficiency by as much as 50 percent during advanced testing, according to … Continue Reading

Electro Power unveils hydrogen fuel cells to power mobile networks

Hydrogen fuel cells may be suited to more than powering next-gen cars. Italian electronics company Electro Power Systems just debuted a new fuel cell that could provide backup power for mobile networks run by wireless carriers. Where better to demonstrate the new technology than at the Mobile World Conference in Barcelona?

Electro Power’s new device, dubbed the ElectroSelf hydrogen fuel system, has several features making it apt for mobile applications. Not only can it operate … Continue Reading

EnerVault lands $3.5M to make cheap, grid-scale batteries a reality

With bigger name battery companies like A123Systems and Johnson Controls-Saft getting most of the attention, Enervault, a maker of flow battery technology, has been flying under the radar. Now the young company, which may have one of the most practical solutions for grid-scale storage, has raised $3.5 million in new venture funding to make a name for itself.

According to a detailed description on Earth2Tech, Flow batteries are different than the other big storage concepts … Continue Reading

Kenya turns to geothermal with new $1.3B, international aid

Kenya is getting ready to spend $1.3 billion on geothermal energy development. While the country has more than 22 years of experience using the Earth’s natural heat to generate technology, this new project is expected to produce 280 megawatts from four separate geothermal generators each capable of pumping out 70 megawatts.

A joint venture between Kenya Electricity Generating Company and engineering firm Sinclair Knight Merz, the construction will require drilling into subterranean hot springs in … Continue Reading

U2 gets behind carbon trading, raises money for geothermal

Known for its international relief efforts, rock band U2 is now raising funds in Turkey to pay for the country’s Dora-1 geothermal plant. It is also selling carbon offset credits for $1.89 a pop.

The credits will go toward purchasing clean power to neutralize the 127 kilograms of greenhouse gases each of the band’s fans, on average, generates to see the band play. Incidentally, the Dora-1 project could save as many as 30,000 tons of … Continue Reading