San Diego’s 2011 Blackout Caused by Poor Planning, Runaway Errors

San Diego’s 2011 Blackout Caused by Poor Planning, Runaway Errors

Jeff St. John: May 3, 2012

Knowing what your neighboring grids are doing and preventing safety switches from compounding problems are key ways the smart grid could help prevent blackouts.

Update: Tom Doyle of NRG: Reasons to Be Cheerful in Solar in 2012

Update: Tom Doyle of NRG: Reasons to Be Cheerful in Solar in 2012

Eric Wesoff: May 3, 2012

“We are changing the energy industry—and we’re changing the world.” (Updated with news from NRG Q1 earnings report)

Solar Balance of System in the Crosshairs

Solar Balance of System in the Crosshairs

Eric Wesoff: May 3, 2012

Balance of system, once an underappreciated part of a solar installation, is now in the spotlight.

Solar’s Net Metering Under Attack

Solar’s Net Metering Under Attack

Herman K. Trabish: May 3, 2012

Utilities complain of losing money when solar owners’ meters are spinning backwards.

Guest Post: UK Solar Feed-In Tariffs—Debunking the Myths

Guest Post: UK Solar Feed-In Tariffs—Debunking the Myths

Dane Cross: May 3, 2012

A perspective piece which asserts that passing solar costs on to non-solar customers is “right” and an incentive to go solar

Green Button Gains More Followers

Green Button Gains More Followers

Katherine Tweed: May 2, 2012

Utilities and vendors are signing up in droves to stay competitive.

Solar Tariff Debate: Rule of Law or Open Competition?

Solar Tariff Debate: Rule of Law or Open Competition?

Herman K. Trabish: May 2, 2012

Blame the Chinese—but at least they are supporting their solar industry.

Is the SolarCity IPO Just What the Greentech Doctor Ordered?

Is the SolarCity IPO Just What the Greentech Doctor Ordered?

Eric Wesoff: May 2, 2012

Or are there skeletons in SolarCity’s IPO closet?

C3 Acquires Efficiency 2.0

C3 Acquires Efficiency 2.0

Katherine Tweed: May 2, 2012

Is this the year energy management moves from partnerships to acquisitions?

Guest Post: Will Banks Win Best Actor in a Leading Role for Solar in 2012?

Guest Post: Will Banks Win Best Actor in a Leading Role for Solar in 2012?

Michael Johnson: May 2, 2012

From this point forward, every solar project will go through a tax equity investor and, most likely, that investor will be a bank.

Cleantech Investing

Some Thoughts on the Boston Cleanweb Hackathon

Rob Day: May 1, 2012
GE Still Dominates US Wind Manufacturing but New Faces Are Emerging

GE Still Dominates US Wind Manufacturing but New Faces Are Emerging

Herman K. Trabish: May 1, 2012

Bigger machines and more manufacturers are competing for market share.

The Numbers Behind Tesla and SolarCity’s Home Energy Storage Play

The Numbers Behind Tesla and SolarCity’s Home Energy Storage Play

Jeff St. John: May 1, 2012

IDC Energy Insights breaks out how Tesla and SolarCity’s play for residential solar battery backup systems may play out in California and other states.

Guest Post: Exxon’s Big Bet on Shale Gas Won’t Pay Off if Clean Energy Scales

Guest Post: Exxon’s Big Bet on Shale Gas Won’t Pay Off if Clean Energy Scales

Mike Casey: May 1, 2012

The clean energy industry has to dramatically scale its advocacy investment to meet an aggressive disinformation campaign.

Redwood Systems Lights Up Europe

Redwood Systems Lights Up Europe

Katherine Tweed: May 1, 2012

The networked LED lighting company jumps across the pond and beyond.