Today's Date:
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Trends
April 16, 2008
It's a blimp, it's a balloon, it's a…wind turbine? With an eye on a $12 million second round, Magenn Power hopes to prove its airship-based technology is more than just neat pictures on a Web site.
April 16, 2008
Nevada-based Mariah Power has developed a propeller-free turbine that turns wind -- which sets the clouds a-flyin' -- into energy.
April 16, 2008
Quiet Revolution has pilot installations, a newly opened factory, a sold-out order book and $2.3 million. It claims its turbines generate 20 to 40 percent more energy for their size, compared to conventional turbines. But will all that -- and regulatory support -- be enough to make a market?
April 16, 2008
With a 21-year history, Southwest Windpower has been around the block. But after some unexpected permitting and zoning setbacks, the company says sales are growing "exponentially" and it plans to turn a profit in the fourth quarter.
April 14, 2008
Recent reports show that cleantech investments in ethanol, wind and solar are slowing down, though heavy investment this week shows the sector is still going strong.
April 14, 2008
Analysts say the news doesn't mean the shortage is over yet, but could be a sign that companies are reassessing how much capacity they need. One calls the news "a breath of fresh air" in an atmosphere where many players are double- or triple-dipping into capital markets, while others say it underscores the difficulty of making silicon.
April 09, 2008
Auto companies are ramping up their green marketing. But are they really bringing green-car technology any closer?
April 02, 2008
Electrorides prepares to debut its electric truck, and will offer an option to trick it out with an engine that uses vegetable oil or biodiesel.
April 02, 2008
SolarCity signs a deal with Morgan Stanley that will cut homeowners' upfront solar-installation costs to about $2,000 and charge them a fixed monthly fee -- not a rate -- for solar power. It's the latest in a series of new programs trying to use a commercial financial model to grow the residential solar market.
April 01, 2008
A report by the Prometheus Institute and Greentech Media forecasts that concentrating solar-thermal and concentrating PV will make up 12 and 6 gigawatts of installed capacity, respectively, while standard flat-plate PV will make up the rest of a predicted 288-gigawatt market.
March 25, 2008
The Alternative Energy Technology Center says it can produce ethanol for less than $1 per gallon, matching a similar claim by Coskata in January. Other such announcements are on the way, industry insiders say, but could all the competition derail these plans?
March 21, 2008
Thin-film solar VPs Jeffrey Britt and Tim Teich discuss the challenges, the competition and why they're confident they'll succeed, in spite of thin film's troubled past.
March 20, 2008
After at least two similar projections, another report forecasts that solar supply will exceed demand as early as next year.
March 19, 2008
Chinese solar-wafer manufacturer's stock falls, while German concentrating solar company raises an undisclosed sum.
March 18, 2008
Houston-based ethanol company plans to turn unprofitable corn-based ethanol plants into cellulosic-ethanol plants. But so far, cellulosic ethanol is still more expensive. And could cellulose prices rise as more companies start thinking the same way?
March 18, 2008
Global manufacturers increased production of solar cells by more than 50 percent last year, exceeding expectations as more silicon and thin-film solar came online.
March 17, 2008
Panelists at Greentech Media conference say uncertainty over renewable-energy tax credits could lower the percentage of commercial and industrial solar installations financed using these agreements.
March 17, 2008
With the announcement, expected to mark the switch to a more powerful transmission, the electric-sports car startup plans to ramp up production to more than 100 Roadsters per month by early next year.
March 17, 2008
Range Fuels rakes in $100 million for cellulosic ethanol, Coskata gets $19.5 million for the same and Suntech acquires $100 million in shares of Nitol Solar.
March 12, 2008
Biodiesel companies Cargill and Alabama Biodiesel face pollution allegations after a solar-silicon company is accused of dumping toxic waste. Will the rest of the greentech industry suffer a credibility problem?