It's no secret that the Boston tech community harbors a deeply irrational desire to trade in the 'Pike for the 101. But the next time some "innovator" talks to you about giving up your Waltham digs for a spot on Sand Hill Road, hand him some hedge clippers and say thanks but no thanks. For the past three years solar panel-owner Mark Vargas has been at war with his his Sunnyvale neighbors, Richard Treanor and Carolynn Bissett, over the unfortunate placement of their redwood trees. It seems their trees block the sun from reaching Vargas's 10 kW array, effectively reducing the amount of electricity Vargas can generate. Prosecutors from the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office brought charges against the redwood owners under (get this...) California's Solar Shade and Control Act. The 1979 law "bans trees or shrubs from shading more than 10 percent of a neighbor's solar panels between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.". In a December trial, a Santa Clara judge found the couple guilty of violating the Solar Shade and Control Act, a conviction they have now appealed. After the jump, you be the judge.

In 2006, nearly 600,000 homeowners in coastal areas of the United States found themselves with a little more pocket change than in the previous year. The insurance industry, which spends as much time analyzing the weather as the IPCC, deemed the ongoing, climate change-related risks to these homes too great and revoked their policies. The message from insurers was clear: "we're not gonna take it anymore." Following a year-over-year doubling in weather-related insurance losses from $30 billion in 2004 to more than $60 billion in 2005 in the United States, the insurance industry began to fight back against global warming. Globally, this number jumped from $145 billion in 2004 to over $200 billion in 2005. In December 2005 20 of the largest investor groups in the U.S., including most major state employee and union pension funds, forced the 30 largest American insurance companies to disclose their climate change-related financial exposure. The results were, needless to say, not pretty.

Bottom-line pressures affecting the insurance industry are growing at a rapid pace. A June 2005 report from the Association of British Insurers (pdf) tells us that expected losses due to the expected jump in extreme weather could amount to increases of 75 percent in the U.S., 66 percent in Japan, and 15 percent in Europe by 2080. The ABI expects a non-extreme weather-related increase of 66 percent overall year to year by that time. That's an additional $27 billion a year, every year, for the next 75 years. What is unique about this situation is that insurance companies, which comprise the world's second largest industry in terms of assets, are creating forward-looking climate models. This is a break from the historical trend of assessing weather-related risks in terms of historical patterns. The admission here is that the climate is in fact changing for the worse, and it's going to cost alot. Insurance companies have their fingers in a lot of different pies, yours and mine included, but also in coal plants, cement factories, and vehicle fleets. Pressure from the industry has turned up in a lot of different places, including last week's announcement of The Carbon Principles. Insurance companies are penalizing policy holders for engaging in activities that worsen the climate because the future consequences of these actions will end up costing them in the end. The good news is that they're also rewarding good behavior. This includes offering discounts on policies for hybrid cars and LEED certified buildings. Extending these benefits to project development in the greentech sector is the next logical step. Using corporate pressure to force the government's hand is necessary - that kind of green doesn't grow on trees.

Wintry mix edition...

• Iberdrola, basking in the honeymoon glow of their marriage to Scottish Power, announced today 2007 was their biggest year ever. The company generated 14,708 million kWh of electricity from renewable sources - up 87 percent from 2006. Wind power, which accounted for more than half of their generation portfolio, was especially strong in the U.S., where Iberdrola generated 5,234 million kWh - 36 percent of the company's 2007 output. With 7,704 MW of capacity, and an extra 42,053 MW in the pipeline, the company also announced a three-year, €8.5 billion expansion aimed at boosting its on-stream renewable capacity by an extra 2,000 MW per year until 2010. Rumors are half the cash has been set aside for the diamond-encrusted turbine Iberdrola Renewables chief Xabier Viteri is building for his summer palace in Romania.


• Evergreen Solar scaled back their common stock offering from 20 million to 16 million shares, citing possible dilution from current market conditions. The underwriter option has also been scaled back, from 3 million shares to 2.4 million. The Mass. based panel and wafer manufacturer hopes to raise $152 million, and will spend most of it making sure those damn pine trees stop turning brown.


• London mayor Ken Livingston announced a £25 CO2 tax on SUVs in the City of London. The tax, which will go into effect in October, targets nearly 30,000 vehicles, while also giving tax breaks to hybrid and low-emissions car drivers. Livingston's opponent in the next mayoral election, the aptly named Boris, decried Livingston's car-hating, "tax the motorist" policy. The Ministry of Silly Walks was reportedly overjoyed. Mary Poppins could not be reached for comment.


• WorldWater, a solar company, has finalized a $35.64 million private placement with the Quercus Trust to continue funding construction of their 50 MW production plant in Texas. CEO Quentin Kelly, a nervous Aquaman by his side, assured the press that despite the company's foray into solar and their recent acquisition of ENTECH, WorldWater would remain committed to rebuilding the ancient city of Atlantis.


• And finally today... First Solar has announced their 4Q 2007 earnings: $0.77 EPS on income of $62.9 million with $201 million in revenue. This beat the analyst consensus of $0.53 EPS on $180 million revenue. Mike Ahearn, First Solar's CEO, credits full production at the company's Odern plant. Well done, Gunther - this time. You may have won the battle, but you will not win the war.

GM has been forced to revise up its price estimate for the much-anticipated Chevy Volt. The electric car, originally pegged at $30,000 with a 2010 delivery date, will now be in showrooms in 2011 with a $35,000 price tag. The problem? It seems the geniuses at GM forgot about that whole driving in the rain while listening to music thing. The company that gave us Robert McNamara and that awful John Mellencamp song were too busy man-worshiping their electric phallus to realize that subsidiary electronics on cars siphon power from the battery. Duh. In a gas powered car things like the air conditioner, stereo, and windshield wipers draw power from the battery, which is recharged from the motor via an alternator. Well, the Volt has no alternator and its battery is pretty much occupied making the car go forward (and backward, hopefully). GM's initial solution is to have its engineers build redundant systems into the first generation Volt, raising its price and pushing back the launch date. I guess this means I can forget about the Pimp My Ride makeover. GM: We Bring Dead Things to Life!

Killer Amp. We heard it used last week at the MIT Innovation thing and I had to laugh. First, I thought of one of the Orange Tiny Terrors they sell downstairs from us at Nitro Tone. But no, this isn't a 15W box to give your telecaster that old-school tube tone, it's a play on the term killer app, used ad nauseam in the communications industry to represent the newest, sexiest application that will drive yet another wave of network infrastructure investment and drive wealth into a market pathologically afraid of commoditization. Killer app #1: Email. Huge, and it made the Internet a real communications medium and drove it into the mass market. Killer app #2: E-commerce. Internet bubble! But, bubble aside, the Internet went from an R&D network to a real robust, secure infrastructure for all new services to come. And generated billions in corporate and personal wealth. Killer app #3: Video. YouTube. enough said. Killer app #4: MySpace. yuck, but yeah, it's a killer app. So now the greentech industry has caught onto the idea, like this: if only there were a killer amp out there to drive investment, entrepreneurship, and success into the energy market, all things renewable, efficient and green would flourish.

Combining innovative technologies, ambitious business models, and social relevance, greentech startups have rightfully taken up the mantle dropped by internet and biotech companies as new economy leaders. Companies like A123 Systems, Plextronics, and Serious Materials have earned their places on some of the most prominent top ten lists by bringing cutting edge products to market. However, we feel these companies have received an outsized share of the publicity. So, today we have come to celebrate the losers. In a parallel universe, where the laws of physics, finance and coolness fail to apply, the following five startups would surely find themselves beating back the tides of greentech-hungry VCs. Armed with a big advertising budget and flashy websites, what these companies lack in technological know-how and business acumen they make up for with gushing profiles on Treehugger. Best of the worst after the jump.

• Ford Tamer, the new kid on the greentech block at Khosla Ventures, was given only one day at the firm to prove his worth. Kaai and Soraa, two advanced LED and optics startups, and Tamer, a former VP at Broadcom and Agere, are teaming up to destroy Blu-ray with lasers. Yes... lasers. When asked to comment on his newest employee, Vinod said, "Here's the plan. We get the warhead and we hold the world for ransom for... ONE MILLION DOLLARS!"


• Reva put 2,500 EVs on the road last year, making it the world's largest electric car company. Take that Tesla. The company, a JV between Maini Group India and AEV LLC of California, has been selling the cutest little car ever in India since 2001 and was buttressed in 2006 by a $20 million round lead by Draper Fisher Jurveston. Reva's skunkworks are reportedly busy developing lithium ion and lithium polymer batteries in preparation for their entrance into the American Noe Valley market. Tim Draper celebrates his investment in Reva


• On February 4, Evergreen Solar registered for a public offering of 20 million shares of common stock, hoping to raise $231 million, and up to $266 million if its underwriters jump on board. We used to be good friends, and Evergreen should know that if they ever needed the money I'd be happy to loan them a couple hundred. I just hope they're using the cash to get help, and not blowing it at the dog track.


• BioEnergy LLC has closed a $201 million round of debt financing, allowing them to begin construction on Pennsylvania's first ethanol plant. The Clearfield, PA plant is, according to bankers who worked on the deal, a miracle "of innovative debt structuring techniques and the dedication of many financial professionals." Because, well, it turns out debt financing is the only good thing corn ethanol has to offer.


• And finally today, ecogeek jumps on the fusion bandwagon and prepares for a long, bumpy ride.