Many American households and businesses saw energy costs soar this summer with July being the hottest month in Earth’s hottest year on record. Utilities rely on “peaker plants” during these record-setting heat waves to avoid blackouts. Such plants are more expensive and often more polluting to operate, and utilities pass the higher costs straight on… Keep reading →
Back in January when Google announced it would spend $3.2 billion to purchase Nest, EDF knew this was a company to watch. The results of three new reports, released today, confirm that controllable thermostats like the Nest Learning Thermostat are both customer-friendly and useful for energy system planners. Moreover, the reports signal that smart devices, such as… Keep reading →
The days of merely managing wires and selling a commodity are winding down for utilities. These companies must now compete with or embrace technology and services that give customers greater control over the systems that power their homes, making it easier to reduce energy consumption, increase efficiency and ultimately save money. Google’s acquisition of smart… Keep reading →
The answer is that the two are rapidly converging Google, along with its peers such as Apple, Facebook, eBay, Yahoo, Tesla and hordes of other start-up in and around Silicon Valley, have been the darlings of the Wall Street with their stratospheric market valuations, rising stocks, and growing dominance in the phenomenally fast growing information… Keep reading →
The changing utility business model in the face of distributed generation market acceptance is a major theme so far in 2014, and Google’s Nest acquisition is a clear signpost on this transitional landscape. It’s becoming increasingly clear that to lead the way in the new power generation and delivery space, utilities need to decide whether… Keep reading →
Not so long ago, DistribuTECH was a trade show focused on core Transmission & Distribution (T&D) engineering equipment. The shift in the last few years has been dramatic and the event now resembles a high tech, Silicon Valley conference. Our industry, like many others, has become a digital one. While it is one of the… Keep reading →
Because they just hit a venture capital home run with Google’s acquisition of Nest. Despite recent mainstream media reports, cleantech venture capital is alive and kicking at the start of 2014. Just ask Peter Nieh and the cleantech team at Lightspeed, KPCB’s Randy Komisar, Venrock’s David Pakman or Shasta Ventures’ Rob Coneybeer. That group, along… Keep reading →
Google acquired smart thermostat startup company Nest for $3.2 billion in cash. Nest had been working on a reported $150 million financing round that would have valued the firm at $2 billion. CEO Tony Fadell – a former Apple SVP – said on the company’s blog “We’ve had great momentum, but this is a rocket… Keep reading →
Cleantech 2.0: It’s Time to Get Lucky
By Wal van LieropFor many of us who have been in the cleantech industry for the past decade, together we are trying to build the new energy economy. We are coming from an era where an adolescent industry tried to push technologies that weren’t mature into the hands of early adopter customers who were willing to pay a… Keep reading →