Ford drops Smith, picks up Azure for all-electric van batteries
The Ford Motor Company has been the leading maker of work vehicles since dirt was young. While known for its F-150, its vans have long been popular with contractors, plumbers and delivery services. And come next year, they’ll have another, greener option: The 2010 Transit… Continue Reading
Newest GreenBeat speaker: Google CEO Eric Schmidt
I’m delighted to announce that Google Chief Executive Officer Eric Schmidt has agreed to speak at our GreenBeat event on Nov. 19, which focuses on the overhaul of our nation’s electrical grid.
Schmidt has been a vocal proponent of our nation’s need to invest in a… Continue Reading
Boxer pushes Climate Bill forward, whether the GOP likes it or not
Fresh off last week’s health care reform win, president Barack Obama and his allies in Congress have turned their attention to climate change — particularly the Kerry-Boxer bill that would establish a carbon trading system and set renewable energy targets in the U.S. Today, its… Continue Reading
Dubai’s Technosphere to simulate future climates
Having mastered indoor ski slopes and mass desalination, Dubai just unveiled its massive Technosphere, a biological bubble oddly similar to Disney’s Epcot Center (or the Death Star), meant to simulate future climates and test sustainable technology.
Powered by the sun and carbon neutral, the sphere is… Continue Reading
Utilities to deploy 250M smart meters by 2015
Infused by the $3.4 billion in federal grants handed out last week, utilities will ramp up production and installation of digital smart meters by more than 19 percent, with 250 million predicted to be rolled out by 2015, according to a new report out today… Continue Reading
California anchors Tesla with $28.8M tax break
Tesla Motors, the hyped electric car company, just nabbed another win (in a long line of them since the spring), earning approval for a $28.8 million tax break from California’s Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority (a branch of the Treasurer’s office). The change… Continue Reading
Toyota muscles into EV charging business with solar stations
Toyota, used to being top dog in the advanced transportation business with its hybrid Prius, has pushed into a whole new area of the electric vehicle business: charging stations. Watch out, Better Place! Move over, Coulomb Technologies! Getting a major automotive name in the charging… Continue Reading
GreenBeat Innovation Competition: Calling all killer Smart Grid apps!
On Nov. 18 and 19, VentureBeat will be hosting its inaugural GreenBeat conference, the premier executive summit on the Smart Grid this season. One of its major goals: To spotlight the brilliant technology only now emerging to mold a cleaner, more efficient electrical grid on… Continue Reading
Microgrids: A $2.1B market in the making?
The Smart Grid has officially stolen the cleantech spotlight this week, with the Department of Energy announcing the distribution of $3.4 billion in stimulus grants for utilities championing a cleaner, more efficient electrical grid. And this has set the stage for new, innovative grid ideas… Continue Reading
Silver Spring finds home on the range with OG&E
Silver Spring Networks, increasingly the provider of IP-based smart metering systems to watch, has gotten another big break, expanding its partnership with both Oklahoma Gas & Electric (OG&E) and General Electric Energy to help deploy the utility’s ambitious Positive Energy Smart Grid Program, one of the… Continue Reading
Energy-generating pavement: An untapped renewable?
From the neat new things department: An emerging startup called Pavegen has just installed squares of energy-generating pavement in London. Usually, when you think of converting kinetic energy into electricity, wind turbines and hydroelectric dams spring to mind. But people’s steps — thousands upon thousands… Continue Reading
Renewable Funding let’s you easily finance your solar panel investment
Renewable Funding, a company that makes it easier for homeowners to finance solar or other renewable funding projects with friendly terms, has raised $12.2 million in a first round of funding.
The Oakland, Calif., based company’s model is noteworthy because it lets you attach your financing… Continue Reading
Q&A with Cisco’s Laura Ipsen: Telepresence reduces carbon at Copenhagen
Laura Ipsen is senior vice president and general manager in charge of the Smart Grid for Cisco, and she’ll be speaking at our GreenBeat conference next month, where we’ll be discussing the most disruptive technologies bringing change to the old carbon-based grid system. Below is… Continue Reading
Emboldened by momentum, solar industry asserts rights
Solar Power International, the major industry event of the year, is taking place in Anaheim this week and has drawn record attendance — about 25,000 solar entrepreneurs, investors and executives have gathered to showcase new technology, make deals and chart out the future of what… Continue Reading
Obama’s climate focus continues with $2.2B in Treasury bonds for clean energy
Capping off a day dedicated to climate change issues, the Obama administration had one final announcement in store: The Treasury Department released news that it is allocating $2.2 billion in bonds to support the efforts of 805 small-scale clean and renewable energy projects across the… Continue Reading
Did AMD’s former CEO reveal confidential secrets in Galleon insider trading case?
Former Advanced Micro Devices chief executive Hector Ruiz allegedly shared confidential secrets about his company to a trader involved in the Galleon insider trading scandal, according to the Wall Street Journal.
If true, it’s a huge scandal that will stain the record of a statesman of… Continue Reading
AlertMe teams with Google, British Gas to give consumers more control over energy use
AlertMe is the newest energy monitoring device maker to partner with Google PowerMeter, giving homeowners more information and control over how much electricity they are using, and how much they pay for it. By providing hardware that plugs into your home’s traditional electric meter and… Continue Reading
Chevron follows the money, bats down climate bill
In a not so surprising turn of events, Chevron’s CEO heir apparent, John Watson, spoke out against U.S. climate change legislation — offering the party line argument that increasing regulation will jack up energy prices and let the air out of our barely buoyant economy…. Continue Reading
Copenhagen may be a bust, and it’s all the U.S. and E.U.’s fault
The much-hyped climate talks scheduled for Copenhagen in December may be a failure before they’ve even started, according to United Nations climate change guru, Janos Pasztor. The goal of the 11-day global conference is to produce a new climate treaty requiring all signing nations to… Continue Reading
Obama puts full-court press on climate change foes
In the wake of its health care reform victory yesterday (the inclusion of a public option), the Obama administration today turned its attention to climate change — it’s other big campaign promise that has yet to come to fruition. While Energy Secretary Steven Chu lobbied… Continue Reading