Notable achievements in the world of cleantech We’re just five months into 2013, and we’ve already seen a number of new records in cleantech deployment. Here are five recent stories worth highlighting. Renewables Power Portugal Into 2013 In the first quarter of this year, Portugal got 70 percent of its electricity from renewable sources. That’s three straight… Keep reading →
ExxonMobil Chief Executive Rex Tillerson acknowledged the risks posed by climate change at the company’s annual meeting on May 29, but he stressed that the real-world consequences of rising atmospheric carbon dioxide levels remain unknown. “We view climate change as a serious issue, it does present serious risk,” Tillerson told shareholders. But he cast doubt… Keep reading →
Total has agreed to pay more than $398 million to settle Securities Exchange Commission and Department of Justice charges for violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Total will pay the SEC $153 million and the DOJ $245.2 million related to charges that the French oil major paid $60 million in bribes related to the… Keep reading →
One of today’s most-attractive investment opportunities – large-scale energy storage – is more than just an exciting business story, it’s a technology play that can help scale up renewable energy use, with knock-on climate change mitigation benefits. The first companies to commercialize utility-scale energy storage stand to make a fortune and pioneer some of the… Keep reading →
One of the most frightening scenes from the financial crisis unfolded in the staid environs of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Washington offices, where the regulators charged with monitoring derivatives trade gathered together the heads of commodity trading from recently shamed Wall Street giants like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. The CFTC was a comparatively… Keep reading →
Yesterday was a tough day for renewables, with rising reports of solar panel defects, a failure of Kenya’s renewable-heavy national power grid, and ethanol losing some of its cost advantage over gasoline. Solar developers, testing labs, financiers and insurers are reporting defects with solar panels – some that have caused fires – early on in… Keep reading →
