Ontario makes dark horse bid for North American cleantech crown
While the United States has remained at an impasse over the extension of its clean energy tax credits, the Canadian province of Ontario has been busy positioning itself as a go-to destination for cleantech’s mountains of cash.
Ontario initiated a flurry of incentive programs aimed at increasing its overall renewable energy production capacity in early 2004 through its 20-year energy plan, dubbed the Integrated Power System Plan (IPSP). Its goals were to obtain an extra 5… Continue Reading
BioPower Systems draws inspiration from the sea to build ocean power technologies
In the high-stakes world of clean energy technologies — where even the slightest engineering tweak can mean the difference between market leader and also-ran — developing a system solely around biological designs might seem like an unusual strategy. Yet Sydney, Australia-based BioPower Systems, in seeking to prove the old dictum that you can’t improve on nature, has done just that: building two ocean power conversion systems modeled around a shark’s fin and a sea plant’s… Continue Reading
Hydro Green Energy caps off first funding round in growing “hydrokinetic” market
Hydro Green Energy, another player in the burgeoning hydrokinetic sector, has just capped a $2.6 million first funding round led by the Quercus Trust.
The Houston-based company holds 13 preliminary permits from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for projects in Alaska and Mississippi; it expects its first project, on the Mississippi River in Minnesota, to begin operations in late August. Another four projects that will be built downstream of existing U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’… Continue Reading
Ontario government backs Verdant Power tidal energy project
Hoping to capitalize on the tremendous amount of free, tidal energy offered by the St. Lawrence River, the government of Ontario has committed $2.2m for a 15 MW underwater turbine project to be handled by New York-based Verdant Power. The turbines will be installed on the floor of the river and used to generate enough electricity to power up to 11,000 homes.
Company officials estimate that there may be enough power in Canada’s water currents, rivers… Continue Reading