We spend a lot of time here talking smack about FutureGen. And there's no shortage of bad things to say about it. Whether it's the outlandish cost, questionable technology, or true green value the "near zero emissions plant" never lacks for good comic fodder. But, just as in all things related to the U.S. economy, it turns out FutureGen faces some strong foreign competition. China's GreenGen and Australia's COAL21 are giving FutureGen a run for its money in the pipe dream-fueled race to the bottom that is "clean coal" plant development. In the interest of justice and fairness we've decided to invite the coal companies, power utilities, and governments that make up these public-private partnerships to the Greentech Media Battle Arena for an all out, no holds barred deathmatch for "clean coal" dominance. Which of these capital-intensive PR campaigns will prove their's is the worst combination of non-scaling technology and wasted resources? Which will walk away with the title of King Coal? I'm choking on anticipation and coal dust...

Last week we brought you GTM's Top 5 ugliest green vehicles. Today we come to you with news that our crack team of archaeologists have unearthed what could possibly be the ugliest green vehicle of all time. The T-Rex, profiled here with Tiger Beat-like enthusiasm by Justin Moresco at Red Herring, pulls out all the stops: three wheels, metallic paint, roll bar, and wait... are those mufflers? What's going on here? An Adventure 65 Million Years in the Making

Welcome to The Morning Feedstock, our look at the day's earliest news cycle through uncaffeinated goggles. We'll be here every morning delivering mostly fair and slightly balanced coverage of greentech's latest developments. So, hey, at least we're honest.

• Indian company Moser Baer decides it's time to stop messing around and start building the largest thin film plant ever. Almost. Well, not quite, but at 600 MW it's certainly bigger than Nanosolar's.


• Solazyme's Soladiesel is solawesome. CEO Jonathan Wolfson announced the company is now testing B100 blends of its biodiesel, which is produced from engineered algae that creates oil with a high lipid content. Like McDonald's fry grease. I wonder if they go skinny dipping in the bioreactor after work?


• Abu Dhabi's newest feat of awesomeness has gotten under way with the laying of a virtual cornerstone by Crown Prince Mohammad of Abu Dhabi. The $22 billion Masdar City will be the world's first zero emissions, car free city, and will be powered completely from renewable energy sources. Note to FutureGen - that's how it gets done.


• Proving once again that everyone likes a little bit of regulation, the California Bay Area Air Quality Management Board has finally gotten around to proposing a fee on stationary sources of greenhouse gas emissions. Like they're sooo progressive. The proposed fee stands at $0.42 per metric ton of carbon dioxide and would target everything from coal power plants to that cute little cupcake place down the street.


• And finally today.... Man bites insect. And, at least for Sam Nejame, that's good thing. Taste like chitin.

Our weekly list of greentech events in the (mostly) New England area. If you have an event to list for next week, e-mail us at englander at greentechmedia dot com. Also, if you haven't registered yet for Greentech Media's Solar Market Outlook: Day of Data in New York City on February 19, now would be a good time to get that done. February 11

• Big Picture Panel on Sustainable Energy, 5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. @ Rm. 123, Stata Center, MIT

February 12

• Energy Policy Seminar Series: "Electricity Market Design", 9:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. @ Fainsod Room (L-324), Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University


• PV Installations in Germany - Same Technology, Lower Costs: Barry Cinnamon, Akeena Solar, 11:00 a.m. @ Solar Electric Power Association Conference Call Seminar Series


• Focus on Climate Change, 12:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. @ MIT


• Harvard Business School Association of Northern California - Clean Technology: Investing With The Pros, 6:00 p.m. @ Michaels at Shoreline Restaurant, 2960 Shoreline Blvd, Mountain View, CA. Moderated by Jenn Kho, Greentech Media's Editor

Feburary 13

• Focus on Climate Change, 1:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. @ MIT


• Green Building: Regulatory Trends & Legal Strategies, Boston Bar Association, 4:00 p.m. - 7:00p.m. @ Boston Bar Association, 16 Beacon St., Boston


• MIT Energy Club Discussion Series: The Energy Bill, 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. @ R&D Pub, Stata Center, MIT


• MIT Club of Northern California: "Global Players: What Does it Mean to be Green?", 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. @ Google Headquarters, Mountain View, CA

February 14

• Focus on Climate Change, 11:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. @ MIT

Feburary 15

• All Ivy Environmental Career Fair, 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. @ Low Library, Columbia University, New York City

Learning is a constant process here at Greentech Media. Just this morning we made the switch from velcro. Tomorrow we're hoping to broach solid foods. Thankfully the greentech market is slightly (*cough*) more evolved. So this is what we learned this week:

• General Electric may just be the world's largest car company. In our dreams.
• Andy Karsner will have a big, important greentech job waiting for him after Bush runs away to his Paraguayan plantation. If by greentech you mean petroleum, and if by job you mean lobbyist.
• Electric cars need to be ugly. Really, really ugly.
• Every time is a good time for solar power. Especially if that time is a recession.
• Innovation conferences are way funnier when you actually pay attention.
• Biofuels are the greatest threat to humanity.

The response from yesterday's liveblog was overwhelming. Thanks to everyone who hung in there all day. For everyone who attended the Power, Drugs & Money conference, reading back through the liveblog will make it seem like you were at a totally different summit. Expect more rogue conference transcripts in the future. For those of you who enjoy reality, Scott Kirsner and Martin LaMonica have a slightly more accurate view of yesterday's events.

3:49 p.m. - That's it! We're done. Check out the photos. 3:43 p.m. - Final images from the day, including one that sums up the final panel and our current feelings. Daniel Englander (GTM) & Scott Clavenna (GTM) after a long day of being innovative. The final panel... doodles! Another one of the awesome doodles. Joe Boyce (GTM) and Sorin Grama (Prometheus Institute, etc.)