Posts Tagged ‘ California ’

Surprise development between Tesla and Toyota

Two forces we follow closely on the blog have decided to join teams, while another partner looks on from the sidelines. No, we are not referring to Elon Musk’s wife and girlfriend, where ongoing divorce proceedings may or may not affect a Tesla IPO, but instead a partnership between Tesla and Toyota, with Daimler playing [ READ MORE ]

CleanTech Skepticism

Most readers of this blog are likely those we could call CleanTech “early adapters.” People who are excited about a technological breakthrough, especially when it is also economic and profitable. The demand for energy is mostly inelastic- and usually the game is to figure out a way to produce it cheaper, cleaner and more efficiently. [ READ MORE ]

Bloom Energy, or Wilt Energy?

On Sunday, February 21st Bloom Energy was profiled on the American News Show 60 Minutes. Three days later Bloom unveiled for the first time to the public a fuel cell that had been under development for 8 years with Governor Schwarzenegger and General Colin Powell present. Between the media, the hype, the celebrities and the [ READ MORE ]

China the New OPEC for Rare Earth Elements?

If it is a daunting thought that the OPEC controls 40% of the world’s crude oil supply, think again. China has 95% of the world’s rare earth elements (REE) leading the late Deng Xiaoping to presciently remark that “the Middle East has oil, but China has rare earths.” While oil gets a lot of attention, [ READ MORE ]

Clean Energy vs. Conservation

As governments around the world enact legislation to reduce dependence on foreign fuel sources, clean up domestic energy generation and attempt to spur green industries in their own countries- many researchers and company spokespeople are pointing out that these goals are most easily met and with less cost by conservation rather than renewable energy. Take [ READ MORE ]

BrightSource strikes deal with Chevron to build solar plant – to extract oil

This is an interesting news. On 21 Aug 2009, Chevron Corp announced plans to build a solar plant in Coalinga, CA, to create the steam that boosts production at an aging California oilfield, in a pioneering project the company aims to replicate elsewhere if it works, Reuters reported. BrightSource Energy has been tapped by Chevron [ READ MORE ]

Utilities enter solar sector

In the corporate world, if you can’t beat them, why don’t you “eat” them up? Lately a series of events of utilities acquiring solar firms or operating own solar projects have been happening. If your utility firm knows that it has to pay for energy derived from renewable energy, as governments start to enforce this [ READ MORE ]

The Electric Drive Battery and Component Manufacturing Initiative

“I don’t want to have to import a hybrid car. I want to build a hybrid car here.” – President Obama in Warakusa, Indiana, 5 Aug 2009. On 5 Aug 2009, the Obama administration announced the recipients of the grants for the electric vehicle industry, i.e. the $2.4 billion Electric Drive Battery and Component Manufacturing [ READ MORE ]

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