• The Electric Taxi, Courtesy of Ford

    It only has a range of 80 miles, but that could be enough for fleet buyers.

    Ford is getting back into the electric car market in a utilitarian fashion.

    The automaker today will show off the Ford TransitConnect, an all-electric fleet car, at the Chicago Auto Show. The TransitConnect, coming out late this year, will drive 80 miles on a charge and hit a top speed of 75 miles an hour. Those aren't stats that Tesla Motors or Fisker Automotive would brag about but Ford is chasing a different market. These cars will be sold to… Read More ›

  • Thin Film Solar Investment Dries Up

    Thin film 2010 is thin film 2.0: go small or go home.

    VC investment in solar power is still going strong, even through dismal 2009 and the first quarter of this more optimistic year. 

    But the sub-sector of thin film solar is a different story.  In 2007 and 2008, most every energy and greentech investor invested in a thin film firm.  In fact, they did so in a big way -- with $100 million plus funding rounds going to Nanosolar, HelioVolt, AVA Solar, MiaSole, Sulfurcell, SoloPower, etc.

    Here's a quick… Read More ›

  • Q&A With David Gelbaum of Quercus: He Likes Solar

    No new investments for Quercus right now, says Gelbaum.

    It's scale up time for the Quercus Trust.

    The somewhat secretive venture firm is not currently placing new investments, said founder David Gelbaum in an exclusive and somewhat rare interview. Instead, the firm will concentrate on putting more money in the existing companies already in the portfolio to build them up.

    Considering the scope of the trust, that's still a mammoth job. The firm has around 40 to 45 companies in the portfolio, he… Read More ›

  • Ausra Gets Bought By Areva

    The three-way bidding war is over.

    Areva, the swarming energy conglomerate, has won the bidding war and purchased Ausra, the solar thermal specialist.

    Two other conglomerates had been bidding on the company, according to sources. One of them, however, was likely not Siemens. Siemens bought rival Solel for $418 million last year.

    Like many Silicon Valley-funded startups, Ausra came up with a novel idea for harnessing clean power, but has lacked the money, engineering and contracts… Read More ›

  • Greentech IPO Scorecard: Tesla, Solyndra, Codexis

    For better or for worse, 2010 looks to be the year of the greentech IPO.

    According to a study by Ernst & Young, 53 companies filed paperwork to hold initial public offerings in Q4 2009 -- the highest number of new registrants in a single quarter since 2007. That means that there are more deals in the IPO pipeline than there have been for more than two years.  

    And a number of those IPOs happen to be high-profile offerings in the greentech sector.

    For several years I've been predicting that 2010 would be the year of… Read More ›

  • Can U.S. Know-How and Arab Oil Money Make the Middle East a Tech Hub?

    Masdar City has a growing university, a good plan to tackle energy markets, and money. But will they come?

    Abu Dhabi--For grad students, it's easily one of the best deals on the map.

    The Masdar Institute of Science and Technology (MIST)-- the graduate school for alternative energy created by the emirate of Abu Dhabi with help from MIT -- pays all of its students' expenses. That includes tuition, housing, food, travel, fees for taking the GRE, and more. Students even get a monthly stipend to help take the "starving" out of the student.

    MIST, which… Read More ›

  • Skyonic Gets $3 Million To Show if Carbon-to-Baking Soda Works

    Let’s just hope it doesn’t rain vinegar.

    Can biscuits stop global warming? Maybe.

    Skyonic has received a $3 million grant from the Department of Energy to create a simulation and study the feasibility of SkyMine, an industrial process it has developed to convert carbon dioxide into baking soda.

    If all goes well, the company will then apply for a second grant to build a large-scale facility in which to house the technology. The idea is to build the plant at Capitol Aggregates, a cement… Read More ›

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  • Home 2.0, With Fuel Cells

    Home 2.0, With Fuel Cells
  • Inside PGE’s Smart Grid Lab

    Inside PGE’s Smart Grid Lab
  • Green Mansions

    Green Mansions
Event

Greentech Media’s Solar Summit: 2010

March 30 – 31, 2010 Phoenix, AZ
Webinar

Biofuels: The Promise of the Next Generations

Wednesday, February 10, 2010 1:00 pm EST/10:00 am PST

Perspectives ›

Greentech IPO Scorecard: Tesla, Solyndra, Codexis

Greentech IPO Scorecard: Tesla, Solyndra, Codexis

For better or for worse, 2010 looks to be the year of the greentech IPO.

Read More ›

Event

The Networked Grid 2010

May 18 – 19, 2010 Palm Springs, California
Event

Nordic Green II

April 27 – 28, 2010 Menlo Park, CA

Company Profile

Nordic Windpower: Khosla Shifts in the Wind

About a year ago I listened to investor Vinod Khosla comment on wind power at PARC, the Palo Alto Research Center. …Read More ›

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