Chevron follows the money, bats down climate bill
In a not so surprising turn of events, Chevron’s CEO heir apparent, John Watson, spoke out against U.S. climate change legislation — offering the party line argument that increasing regulation will jack up energy prices and let the air out of our barely buoyant economy. His is just one voice in a chorus of fossil fuel executives opposing the Kerry-Boxer bill pending in the Senate.
But what makes his voice interesting is how hard Chevron has… Continue Reading
Massachusetts shines on solar co. Konarka, loans $5M
Thin-film solar company Konarka just landed a $5 million loan from the Emerging Technology Fund of Massachusetts Development Finance Agency and the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust’s Business Expansion Initiative. The funds will be used to build out its new solar material factory in New Bedford, Mass., which has been open since October.
Konarka is known for making plastic solar film capable of turning natural and artificial light into power. Its current manufacturing plant can make enough… Continue Reading
Konarka powers up with $45M for solar “plastic”
Solar innovator Konarka Technologies took in $45 million in strategic funding to further develop its new product for sunlight conversion called Power Plastic and bring it to market. Oil and gas company Total provided the round, acquiring a 20 percent stake in Lowell, Mass.-based Konarka. It hopes to integrate the plastic solar film into products made and used by its subsidiaries, including Hutchinson, Sartomer and Bostik.
The Power Plastic line is prized for being lightweight, flexible… Continue Reading
Roundup: Wikileaks judge slaps own wrist, AllPeers unpeers, Saudis developing solar, and more
Here’s the latest action:
1) Wikileaks judge restores restores site, slaps self on wrist
2) AllPeers’ peer-to-peer scheme fails to capture users
3) Chevron, Weyerhaeuser join up for cellulosic ethanol
4) Saudi Arabia and IBM partner to develop green nanotech
5) Akamai wins patent fight, but not happy with ruling
6) Woz points out flaws in Apple’s latest products
7) Global warming, now with double the lethality
LinkedIn’s new features look a little more like Facebook
9) Fastcompany.tv launches with Robert Scoble
10) Fortune tops… Continue Reading
Algae bloom: Solazyme inks development deal with Chevron
Continuing the trend of major oil companies taking interest in producing biofuels from algae that Royal Dutch Shell started last December, Chevron has opened a deal with Solazyme, a San Francisco biotech startup.
The partnership follows an agreement Chevron made last year with the Department of Energy to produce fuels from algae, while Solazyme, which works in several areas outside biofuels, has become more focused on algae in recent months.
Solazyme also announced today that it has… Continue Reading
GE, Chevron investing big-time in clean technology
General Electric invests more into clean technologies than any other company.
The company’s yearly allotment for Ecomagination, its cleantech investment arm, totals $1 billion, and GE says it’s on track to raise the number to $1.5 billion by 2010. Compare that to the mere $844 million invested in U.S. clean-technology companies by the entire venture capital establishment last quarter, which is at record levels.
The GE money will go to both new research and existing projects, as… Continue Reading
Konarka raises $45M more for solar, despite no clear direction
Konarka, yet another company experimenting with new-fangled technology to produce more efficient solar cells, hasn’t been able to articulate a clear business strategy in the six years since it started.
However, solar technology is hot, and the company has raised $45 million more in capital to give it more time to keep trying. It has now raised more than $100 million.
Like several other start-ups, the Lowell, Mass. company has been using non-silicon material to produce a… Continue Reading
Artificial Muscle to be powered by $20M
Artificial Muscle, a maker of actuators powered by an electroactive polymer, raised $20 million in a second funding round. The company’s release is here.
The company, founded by SRI International, builds components such as auto-focus lens positioners and a “universal” actuator whose movements are controlled in a muscle-like fashion by a special polymer that converts electrical energy into mechanical motion. It hopes to expand use of its technology into medical, automotive, energy and industrial applications.
The… Continue Reading
Staggering cost of the Calif. oil fight: $100M
A surprising $100 million has been raised so far in the fight over the California oil tax. Californians will vote in November on whether to put a tax on oil extracted from California wells.
There’s so much at stake in California, because its economic clout often means other states follow its lead. To put this $100M number in perspective, that’s 40 percent of what it cost to run for U.S. president last time, according to… Continue Reading