Solar securitization, which we’ve recently covered, appears to be moving forward with an announcement last week that SolarCity plans to sell $54 million in asset-backed securities. The concept is similar to now-famous mortgage-backed securities that precipitated the global financial crisis, but proponents claim they are less risky. [The Atlantic] California cities are getting into biogas,… Keep reading →
Toyota, continuing a steady march towards a 2015 debut of its first production hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, plans to showcase at the Tokyo Motor Show later this month a concept version of what this new offering might look like. It is still a work in progress, however, showing evolution from the automaker’s earlier designs. The… Keep reading →
The data explosion racing around the internet as people do more online banking, shopping and thousands of other things requires energy-hungry data centers to process and store the growing volumes of information. These data centers need lots of electricity to power and cool servers, but IBM researchers have developed technology that can redistribute workloads to… Keep reading →
Large oil and gas companies are some of the most active investors in the cleantech space, using new technologies to improve operational efficiency, according to research and advisory firm the Cleantech Group. Cleantech start-ups and oil and gas producers would not appear at first glance to be a good fit for fruitful corporate partnerships. The… Keep reading →
With long development timelines, it’s not apparent yet in new installation capacity, but there was another strong signal on Monday that the wind power manufacturing supply chain is coming back in the United States. The question is if the growth will be sustained. First the news: Big turbine blade manufacturer LM Wind Power put out… Keep reading →
A majority of companies say taxes and cost of living are not a barrier to doing business in the state. Five years after signing one of the nation’s most progressive pieces of energy legislation into law, Massachusetts continues to see strong growth in solar, wind, efficiency and high-technology jobs throughout the clean energy industry. The… Keep reading →
From time to time I will start highlighting some groups that are finding new ways to solve some of the many energy financing challenges that we face. I will be looking at both groups that are finding ways to fill gaps as well as companies that are rethinking old approaches to energy finance. I thought… Keep reading →
Funding at least 30 cleantech deals and deploying more than $500 million in summer 2013 In case you were unplugged for a while this summer, here are the companies that took in cash from the greentech VC community in the last few months. If we missed any VC funding event since June, let us know… Keep reading →
by Pete Danko Fuel cells are not a renewable energy source, of course, although they can be tied to renewable energy. But even using fossil fuels their ability to produce electricity through an electrochemical process – instead of combustion – can make them flexible, relatively clean and efficient energy producers. And quiet, too, the U.S.… Keep reading →
Hurricane Sandy’s wounds remain fresh along the US East Coast, particularly in and around New York City where cleanup costs stretched into the billions of dollars. The storm caused government and private industry to reconsider critical infrastructure vulnerabilities, especially with regard to energy production, transport and distribution, in both the power and liquid fuels sectors.… Keep reading →
