Smart Meter maker Landis+Gyr lands $100M for epic rollout
Last week’s announcement of $3.4 billion in stimulus funds for utilities was big news for smart meter makers. Almost every recipient of the money said they would be using it to add millions of advanced meters to their coverage areas. Now major meter maker Landis+Gyr… Continue Reading
Sanyo ups solar, battery action as it courts Panasonic
Massive battery-maker Sanyo Electric is looking to be acquired by Panasonic. If the acquisition happens, the result will be an almost invincible force in the energy-storage space. Now, to make itself even more attractive to Panasonic, which has made several bids for the company over… Continue Reading
Senate Dems lay Climate Bill smackdown on boycotting Republicans
The Climate Bill has emerged victorious out of the Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee, with Democratic members exploiting a loophole that negated their Rebublican peers’ three-day boycott.
Led by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), who sponsored the bill with Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) 10 Democrats gave… Continue Reading
Tendril to release “eco-warrior” game, connecting conservation to virtual rewards
Tendril CEO Adrian Tuck sent ripples through the audience at GreenTech Media’s “Networked Grid” conference yesterday, letting slip that the home energy monitoring company is partnering with a well-known game maker to produce a new title that connects real-life conservation to in-game rewards.
While he wouldn’t… Continue Reading
Jon Stewart wants his ‘Super Grid’ to fly and shoot lasers
The Smart Grid got a shout out on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart last night, with guest Al Gore touting it as one of the vital developments that will make renewable energy generation possible.
Calling it the “Super Grid,” Gore explained that new, more efficient… Continue Reading
Chamber of Commerce thaws on climate bill (for real this time)?
Two weeks ago, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce was the target of an elaborate hoax by the Yes Men leading some major media outlets to believe that it had reversed its opposition to the Kerry-Boxer climate bill pending approval in the Senate. Now it seems… Continue Reading
Al Gore’s “Our Choice”: Climate change survival guide or more hot air?
Al Gore’s new book “Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis” burst onto the scene yesterday, drawing glowing reviews, talking-head ire, and more than a few questions about his credibility, motivation and future as the self-appointed leader of an emerging environmental intelligentsia.
Instead of… Continue Reading
Steve Westly joins GreenBeat’s top-tier roster
We are thrilled to announce investor and former California state controller Steve Westly as the newest speaker for GreenBeat 2009, the seminal executive conference on the Smart Grid taking place Nov. 18 and 19 in San Mateo.
Bringing combined expertise in politics, energy and entrepreneurship, Westly… Continue Reading
Is your backyard turbine-worthy? ‘Windspire Me’ will tell you
As rooftop solar panels catch on and more people start generating their own clean energy, one company is looking to get average consumers interested in residential wind opportunities — and its leveraging everyone’s favorite consumer device — the iPhone — to do it.
Mariah Power, maker… Continue Reading
New names for GreenBeat’s all-star lineup: Bell, De Martini, Fromer, Reed and Williams
We have added a new group of Smart Grid leaders to the agenda for GreenBeat 2009, the seminal executive conference on the Smart Grid, which takes place on Nov. 18 and 19. The new names add political insight, utility expertise and more entrepreneurial ideas to… Continue Reading
EcoFactor: The smartest thermostat concept yet?
Bursting onto the scene with a new utility deal today, EcoFactor offers software for two-way thermostats to make them so smart that they can adjust your home temperature the way you like it without you raising a finger.
Taking past behavior, peak energy demand and even… Continue Reading
Biomimicry takes wing: New wind turbines inspired by bees
Green Wavelength, a young firm developing renewable energy prototypes, has unveiled its first product, the xBEE Alpha, touting blades that flap like insect wings.
With a 19-foot wingspan, the two-blade model is designed to shatter assumptions that windmill-style turbines are the best for energy generation. Current… Continue Reading
Automotive X Prize wins $5.5M from the Dept. of Energy
The Automotive X Prize, the prestigious competition for advanced vehicle concepts, got a pat on the back from the U.S. Department of Energy today in the form of a $5.5 million grant. This is more than half the $10 million prize awarded to the winner… Continue Reading
Calif. nabs world’s largest landfill-to-fuel plant
California is now home to the world’s largest plant converting landfill gas into usable natural gas. Major landfill operator Waste Management, in partnership with the Linde Group, just opened its $13.5 million facility outside of Livermore, Calif., with plans to produce 4 million gallons of… 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
Link_A_Media takes $18M for data recovery
Link_A_Media Devices, maker of technology used to recover and transmit data on storage devices, has brought in $18 million in a first round of funding. The Santa Clara, Calif. company is backed by Lightspeed Venture Partners, Keynote Ventures, SunAmerica Ventures, and Itochu Technology Ventures.
Verdezyne raises $3M for organism-made biofuels
Verdezyne, a company that develops special microorganisms used to produce biofuels and biochemicals, has brought in $3 million of an expected $15.2 million round of equity, according to a filing with the SEC. Based in Carlsbad, Calif., the company is backed by Life Science Angels,… Continue Reading
Scoopler gets seeded for real-time search
Scoopler, one of the newest companies providing real-time search capabilities, has brought in a seed round somewhere between $500,000 and $1 million. Based in San Francisco, the company was backed by Avalon Ventures, XG Ventures and high-profile individual investors Ron Conway and Michael Birch.
Scoopler, which… Continue Reading