VentureBeat

Dell doesn’t get cloud computing — A bid by computer maker Dell to trademark the term “cloud computing”, a broad term generally used to describe services and software that live on the Internet, has been preliminarily rejected by the US Patent Office.

SoCal Edison signs for 900MW of wind — Following close on the heels of PG&E’s announcement of an enormous 800 megawatt solar power plant, Southern California Edison, which serves the other half of the state, has made a deal for up to 909MW of wind. But wind, unlike solar, is a well-proven strategy, and plans for much bigger wind farms are already in the works.

Is open source a real business model? — Taking a look at several large open source vendors and support services, including Red Hat, Novell and SpikeSource, BusinessWeek concludes that open source is not defensible, and not a good business for many companies. A broader view, however, suggests that while companies like Red Hat have had some execution challenges, the growth of the sector as a whole has been staggering.

Verizon’s fiber optic bets paying off — Expensive fiber optic cables being installed by Verizon in urban areas have proven profitable, contrary to the expectation of many, the New York Times reports. Users like them for the ultra high-speed Internet and bundled services, including TV and phone. However, the article also notes that Verizon’s investment is still costly, and has years before it truly proves wise (or not).

Chinese company exporting hydrogen scooters — For $2,600, you too can have a hydrogen-powered scooter with a 60 mile range. Hydrogen not included.

Apple gives 60 day extension for MobileMe users — In order to make up for a rocky start to its online MobileMe service, Apple is giving users two more months for free.

Mint gets a facelift — The fast-growing personal finance website has revamped its service with a new look, and started a new how-to series for financial decisions.

IBM makes memory chips smaller, faster — Futuristic RAM memory made with a 22 nanometer process (vs. today’s 45 nm chips) has been demonstrated by IBM. The SRAM memory is also faster, which will help multi-core computers perform well.

How to scam your way through life — While not a Silicon Valley story, the saga of the German man calling himself Clark Rockefeller is instructive for local investors. The Boston Globe reports on how Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter, who kidnapped his own daughter and was subsequently caught by police, passed himself off as a wealthy investment professional despite a complete lack of knowledge or ability in the field. The article also notes studies that show entrepreneurs pitching for money become more or less likely to win an investment based not on the merit of their ideas, but on voice tone, posture and other factors.

While the market for silicon solar panels appears to be growing at a healthy clip, several factors could either retard or speed its development. A worldwide silicon shortage, government investment credits, energy prices and the existing financing and installation models for solar panels are all in flux. But recent developments in all of those sectors suggest a positive outlook for the sector.

First up, Trina Solar’s recent decision to cancel its $1b silicon plant is widely seen as a promising sign that the polysilicon shortage may be coming to an end — or, at least, that companies are reassessing their capacity given the difficulty of producing silicon. The company had begun planning the facility in late 2007, when a silicon squeeze threatened to shut off production completely for any company unlucky enough to not have a set supply contract.

Second, the Senate’s recent approval of the Clean Energy Tax Stimulus Act of 2008, which will provide an additional $20 billion to fund renewable energy projects, could, if ratified by both the House and president, encourage further investment. The House passed its own standalone bill, H.R. 5351, to renew an existing tax credit for renewable energy sources set to expire at the end of this year; the bill had previously been struck down twice by the president and faced resistance within the Senate, because it pulled investment credits away from oil companies.

Supporters in the Senate are applying pressure toward ratification of the new bill, but the lack of a clear funding source for the credits puts it at risk both before the House. However, if passed, the measure will give solar manufacturers and installers a 30% investment tax credit and provide up to $500 to consumers looking to invest in energy-efficient products for their homes.

While silicon supply and government policy are both forward-looking, the current trend of rising fossil fuel prices and shifting consumer sentiment have meant that sales are still brisk for many companies — a momentum manufacturers and installers are hoping to maintain as they hire new workers and increase production. Akeena Solar, which just announced the Andalay, a cheaper, ready-to-install solar panel, is considering moving into new U.S. markets — citing “favorable” electricity rates and “large and sustainable incentives for solar power.” The company just signed a deal with Kyocera, the Japanese electronics manufacturer, to begin manufacturing the Andalay panels.

Another installer, Borrego Solar, which specializes in solar panel systems for both commercial and residential markets, is planning on expanding its operations throughout the country and on raising capital for the first time in the company’s history. Even companies like Standard Renewable Energy, which sell their renewable energy products, including solar cells, in supposedly environmentally “unfriendly” states, have been growing at a fast clip.

New incentive and loan programs, such as PSE&G Solar Loan Program and SolarCity’s SolarLease aim to convince homeowners who don’t want to lay down an intimidating lump sum to get solar panels. For home developers, economies of scale and growing consumer interest in “green” features mean they will also find more merit in installing panels on new projects.

Solar firms are also hoping that consumers, armed with their shiny rebate checks, will opt to purchase panels to save on energy costs over the long run. Even if consumer sentiment continues to sour at home, many companies are hoping that business in foreign markets will help sustain their growth (and bottom lines).

Despite the upbeat mood in the clean energy sector, worries about the credit crunch and regulatory uncertainty on Wall Street have somewhat dampened private equity and venture capital investment. As we noted yesterday, fewer venture capital firms raised money this past quarter than at any time during the last two years; a report from New Energy Finance, a London-based firm that tracks investments in cleantech, corroborated the downbeat trend, finding that VC and private equity investments fell to $2.4b in the first quarter, from $3.7b last year.

The continued credit grind could yet start digging into solar installers’ bottom lines if investment continues to drop; government-coordinated initiatives such as the $875m Southern California Edison program to blanket the roofs of unused commercial rooftops with solar panels — enough to generate 250 MW, which could power 162,000 homes — in addition to other rebates, could help offset any such losses. Even pessimists expect growth in the solar sector to continue in 2008, albeit at a slower rate.