There is no shortage of international organizations on energy policies, such as the International Energy Agency. But some countries still see a need to create a new body that focuses exclusively on renewable energy.

So officials from Germany and other countries met in Bonn, Germany today to launch the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), which will set out to promote and coordinate renewable energy and climate change policies among industrialized and developing countries.

Spain, Denmark and Abu Dhabi are among the founding members who have signed the treaty to join the organization. About 80 countries are sending representatives to the meeting in Bonn. Plans to form the IRENA began in earnest last year, and participating countries also included Australia, India and Brazil.

The United States isn’t expected to sign the treaty to join the IRENA.

The meeting in Bonne will continue tomorrow, and decisions about IRENA’s headquarters and who should become the organization’s first director generation will take place in June this year.

Smart grid companies will be some of the most popular in greentech 2009, but they are feeling the pinch too. Tendril, which specializes in home automation and energy management systems, recently had a small reduction in their workforce.

Chalk up one more utility deal for Comverge Inc. (NSDQ: COMV) — and delays in others that might see the demand-response company earn less than it hoped to in the fourth quarter of 2008. Comverge said Monday it had landed a five-year deal with Progress Energy to provide its demand response hardware and software to the utility's EnergyWise residential energy efficiency program in North Carolina and South Carolina. Comverge is aiming to save the utility 170 megawatts on its peak load by installing and managing in-home energy displays, smart thermostats and digital controls to curtail power consumption when it's in greatest demand. It's similar to a deal the East Hanover, N.J.-based company announced Friday with utility Pepco, which is doing a residential energy efficiency project in Maryland and Washington, D.C. With more than 500 utility customers and 2.2 gigawatts under management, Comverge is a big name in the demand-response business. But Friday also saw Comverge report that installation delays and deferred settlements in some of its its "pay-for-performance" contracts would lead it to lower its fourth-quarter 2008 earnings estimates to $75 million to $79 million, down from previous estimates of $80 million to $90 million, according to a research note from Thomas Weisel Partners. The note's authors did revise downward their forecasts for the company's 2009 earnings, from $110.4 million to $98.2 million, on concerns about the ongoing recession and a slowing of smart meter deployments. Similar concerns caused analysts to downgrade smart meter maker Itron Inc. (NSDQ: ITRI) in late October, even after it posted third-quarter revenues that beat expectations. Still, Thomas Weisel Partners didn't appear too worried about Comverge's reduced fourth-quarter expectations, saying that the company is looking at "breakout years" ahead as utilities push forward in a big way with smart grid-related projects (see For 2009, It's All About Smart Grid and Storage). The inclusion of billions of dollars for smart grid efforts in the draft stimulus bill making its way through Congress could bolster the fortunes of companies with equipment, software and services aimed at bringing two-way communication and enhanced utility control to the nation's transmission grid.

Mitsubishi will showcase a concept version of its MiEV Sport Air, an all-electric sports car, at the Geneva Auto Show taking place the first two weeks of March. There aren't a lot of details at the moment. It will be powered by lithium-ion batteries places in the floor. This will give the car a low center of gravity. It is also shaped like an egg. "Greetings, Earthlings. We come in peace," you can tell the valet after driving up in this rig. "Together, these features along with the car's clear cutaway top allow the driver to enjoy the exhilaration of fresh air motoring while also highlighting its eco-friendly qualities," the company says. Sports cars could be the first large market for electric cars. Because of the nature of electric motors, it's easier to get rapid acceleration out of an electric car. That's why Tesla Motors started with a sports car and why the Tesla Roadster and the prototypes created by Wrightspeed, two very young companies, already rank fairly high up in the zero-to-60 miles per hour tests. Sports car buyers are also less concerned about price and the number of miles the car will go on a charge. A lot of sports car owners don't commute with these cars, so they don't need to go 300 miles on a charge.

Think of them as the "Sanford and Son" of the wind industry. A small, but growing, number of companies like Halus Power Systems are specializing in refurbished wind turbines says Green Inc. Unlike solar panels, which live fairly passive lives, wind turbines are regularly abused by the elements. Plus, they are mechanical by nature so wind turbines are prone to break down. (Only a portion of solar installations come with pivoting frames and even then it's a fairly controlled motion. Because the sun doesn't change its pace, the speed of the pivoting panels remains fairly constant.) The refurbished turbines go for around $700 to $800 per kilowatt versus $1,400 to $1,600 for new ones. It might work. Recycling certainly plays in other markets. Several companies, such as Multis Group and Electronic Recyclers have created growing businesses out of refurbishing old computers. Solar panels can also be repaired in the event of breakage. (Bob Cart, CEO of GreenVolts, actually got started in solar after repairing damaged solar panels he found on South Pacific islands during an extended break from work. Yachts were leaving them.) Again, computers and solar panels have easier lives, but it doesn't mean it can't work elsewhere. The challenge will be in how well the refurbed turbines function. Regulators are going to scrutinize the handiwork. One thing the refurbishers will have going for them is the complexity involved in building turbines. Until the economic crash, there was a large backlog of turbines, caused by both high demand and the long manufacturing time. If you ordered a turbine in early 2008, the expected delivery time was late 2009 or early 2010. It rapidly eased in October, but it could easily return.

It was bound to happen. Lockheed Martin has signed a letter of intent with Ocean Power Technologies to build a utility-scale wave farm in North America. OPT will provide site development expertise while Lockheed will bring in the construction, logistics and operation expertise. Lockheed is also working on utility-sized solar projects with Starwood Energy Group. Some out there will see the name Lockheed and go "ewwwww." The company has been a major military contractor for decades. But frankly, this is a real sign of hope that green will thrive. The greentech industry is trying to move beyond the concept stage to actual, practical, massive deployment, and that's going to require the help of large, well-funded, and well-connected companies. Moving from fossil fuels will likely turn into one of the biggest construction and manufacturing projects since World War II. Lockheed has employees who've spent several years of their lives locked up in zoning hearings. Haliburton? You'll likely see that name percolate in greentech over the next few years. If geothermal takes off, all the oil drillers will get into it. Granted, this means that you'll also see an influx of bureaucractic inefficiency and some of the other charms of conglomerate style corporate management. But it's better that than stay stuck on the fringes.

What was inauguration weekend like?  Kind of like Mardi Gras, but with more clothes. There were millions of people in town, and every one of them in a great mood. The commonality of purpose brought out the kind of camaraderie usually only seen during national calamities -- strangers talked to strangers on the Metro, in restaurants, on the streets. For the enviro and cleantech community, a celebratory highlight came the night before the inauguration, at the Green Ball.  Vote Solar was on the host committee. To walk the walk, I tried to dress appropriately.  My tuxedo, for example, was definitely recycled.  It clearly had been to several proms before. [Pictured at right: The Vote Solar team (and friends) -- from left: Shaun Chapman, Annie Carmichael, Alexander Rose (Long Now Foundation), Rosalind Jackson, Gwen Rose, Adam Browning, Polly Shaw (Suntech).] The party was a lot like one of Vote Solar's parties, except it was held in the National Portrait Gallery at the Smithsonian instead of a nightclub, and there were a lot more famous people.  Al Gore, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Van Jones preached to the largely converted.  If you are unfamiliar with Van Jones, you should crawl out from under that rock you call home, and read this profile in the recent New Yorker.  I was actually at the meeting Elizabeth Kolbert recounts -- while I was reduced to squinting stinkeyes at the fatuous few who hijacked the agenda, Van was somehow able to turn the tables and walk out of there with Speaker Pelosi, fist in the air, chanting "Clean Energy Jobs Now" in front of TV cameras. It was really rather amazing. I digress.  The lineup of musicians was fantastic.  Artists included John Legend, Maroon 5, Michael Franti and Will.i.am of Black Eyed Peas fame. As part of her set, Melissa Etheridge drew rousing cheers, declaring: "You can always tell when a Democrat's about to take the White House; the parties are better."  While cleantech is of course a bi-partisan issue, I wonder how she knows?  Somehow I don't think she was playing four years ago. I almost tripped over General Wesley Clark, and I saw John Cusack.  I asked him for my two dollars, but in true Browning joke tradition, I found myself funnier than he. Next post: a summing of the federal solar agenda, and an assessment of its prospects. Adam Browning is Executive Director of the Vote Solar Initiative.