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Why Google invests in clean energy
Last year, Google invested more than $915 million in clean energy projects–solar, wind and transmission. That’s a lot of money, even for Google, which had $38 billion in revenues in 2011. The investments don’t appear to be core to the company’s mission of organizing information, and they have attracted criticism, as well as some... [read more]
Offshore Wind Gets Its Bearings After NRG's Project Collapses
“Financially untenable” is how NRG Energy updates its outlook for what was a planned array of wind turbines offshore Delaware. And with that prognosis, the future of wind energy off the U.S. East Coast is very much in doubt. While the project’s fate may have been cast when the U.S. Department of Energy rejected its application for a... [read more]
Airborne Turbines Revolutionize Wind Power
Flying a kite has often been considered child’s play, but a group of inventors think the concept could be used to make wind energy cheaper and more reliable than ever before, potentially revolutionizing wind power forever. Correspondent Josh Zepps met the innovators working to turn the idea of flying a kite into an airborne wind turbine that’s lighter and more powerful than traditional wind turbines. [read more]
The Regulatory Barriers Obstructing Smartgrid
Bob Jenks of Oregon’s Citizens’ Utility Board, writing at EnergyPulse, explains “Why Smart Grid Advocates Should Learn About Utility Regulation.” Reading between the lines a bit, the reason smart grid advocates should learn about utility regulation seems to be so that they will understand that their talent, inventiveness, and desire to... [read more]
Tackling Denial About The Government's Role In Technology Innovation
I recently engaged in a discussion with David Zetland, a former economics professor of mine, on the value of public investment in technology (NB: I feel authorized to re-publish his and my comments because they were originally published on his public blog). It's worth noting that his blog, Aguanomics, is spectacular and I enjoy reading... [read more]
Data Analytics at the Grid Edge – Killer Apps or Overkill?
The recent exits of Google’s PowerMeter and Microsoft’s Hohm products targeted at consumers have some industry watchers asking if residential consumers really care about home energy consumption data. Where we once had a monthly bill that simply indicated the previous month’s kilowatthours of electricity use, smart meters can... [read more]
JOBS! JOBS! JOBS!
We are less than two days out from President Barack Obama’s speech to a Joint Session of Congress and to the nation to outline proposals to help put Americans back to work. This speech could be a strident call for all-out measures to reinvigorate American employment, a more limited set of programs constructed and conceived within a... [read more]
Silicon Valley: Clean Tech's New Capital?
California’s Silicon Valley is known for launching the Internet revolution, but the region has also become the epicenter of America’s clean tech industry. Billions of dollars in venture capital funding to energy-related companies has helped the region weather the economic downturn by growing green jobs 109 percent over the last decade. energyNOW! correspondent Lee Patrick Sullivan visited Silicon Valley to find out how the region’s shift toward clean energy is empowering tech-savvy workers and entrepreneurs to take charge of America’s energy future. [read more]
Google.org Is Confused About Paths To The Energy Future
Computer modelers can trip up in two ways. The model may be poorly designed in the first place. Secondly the data input may be flawed. As the old saying goes, "garbage in, garbage out." Models need to be tested, but if your model is designed to predict the future. and you foresee major changes in the future, and you want to predict... [read more]
Google Can See The Future
Google, whose energy initiatives and investments have always impressed me, yesterday released an energy innovation analysis that uses a model they built with McKinsey to forecast global power production mixes by different energy technologies in 2030. The analysis is available in a report [PDF] and interactive website that allows users to... [read more]
Google PowerMeter: Smothered by Utilities?
It’s sad that Google has abandoned PowerMeter, but not surprising. Their conviction for the product has been waning for months now, and I publicly predicted they'd dump it in my energy feedback devices talk at the ACI Conference back in March. Smart writers like Martin Lamonica at CNET and Katie Fehrenbacher at Earth2Tech have... [read more]
Google: Energy Innovation Can Have A “Transformative Impact” On U.S.
A few years ago, the high-tech giant Google helped reframe the national energy and climate policy debate when it launched its “RE<C” program, or “renewable energy cheaper than coal.” The idea was clear: instead of primarily focusing on making fossil fuels expensive through climate policy, Google believed the U.S. should focus on... [read more]
Power Apps Must Be Bundled With Other Products For Adoption
Sorry for the extended lull. I’ve been off sick. My Clean Break column today takes a look at the overcrowded market for home-energy management devices and systems. There are many — arguably too many — different flavours and approaches out there, and for the average consumer it must be pretty darn confusing and at times overwhelming to... [read more]
The New Post-Carbon Business Model
The idea of providing a service of renewable energy - rather than a simple supply - and reaping a return on investment from selling any surplus generated to the grid, or by claiming the difference between the regular and premium rate, is emerging as the favoured business model for financing the low carbon revolution.The latest example is... [read more]
BrightSource Energy Files $250 Million IPO
BrightSource Energy, Inc. a utility-scale solar developer, has filed a US$250 million initial public offering (IPO).The California-based solar thermal developer has several intriguing qualities; however, these are saddled along with a few areas of concern. BrightSource sports a significant list of powerful investors and... [read more]
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Baby You Can Drive My (Electric) Car
Posted May 11, 2012 by Scott Edward Anderson
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Siemens develops ABS plastic alternative
Posted May 9, 2012 by Doris de Guzman
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Reduce CO2 and Slow Global Warming?
Posted April 30, 2012 by Willem Post
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Hidroenergia 2012
May 25, 2012, Wroclaw, Poland
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WGC 2012 - 25th World Gas Conference
June 4, 2012, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
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Ecwatech 2012
June 4, 2012, Moscow, Russia
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What's New on
Scott Edward Anderson is a consultant, blogger, and media commentator who blogs at The Green Skeptic. More »
Marc Gunther is a writer, speaker and consultant, who focuses on business and the environment. More »
Christine Hertzog is a consultant, author, and a professional explainer focused on Smart Grid. More »
Jesse Jenkins is the director of energy and climate policy at the Breakthrough Institute. More »
Robert Rapier works in the energy industry and writes and speaks about energy and the environment. More »
Geoffrey Styles is Managing Director of GSW Strategy Group, LLC and an award-winning blogger. More »
Dan Yurman is a nuclear energy blogger and writes regularly for Fuel Cycle Week. More »
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Global JOJOBAWORLD 2012
When: Fri, 2012-05-25 09:00
Hidroenergia 2012
When: Fri, 2012-05-25 09:00
NESCO Town Hall: Security Risk Management Practices for Electric Utilities
When: Wed, 2012-05-30 13:00
Ecwatech 2012
When: Mon, 2012-06-04 09:00
WGC 2012 - 25th World Gas Conference
When: Mon, 2012-06-04 09:00
2nd CSP Optimisation Summit
When: Tue, 2012-06-05 08:00
“Cities will need to be retrofitted, as a whole. There's much work to be done. Vertical farming and other forms of energy/space/agriculture integration will be necessary to further sustain how humans live on this planet.”
“David,Reserves, potential resources and production are not interchangeable, and apocalyptic statements that depend on conflating them are thus fundamentally flawed. Your cogent analysis makes this crucial distinction well. It just needs a bigger audience.”