Time magazine recently profiled BigBelly Solar and their simple but innovative solar-powered trash bins that collect and compact trash simultaneously. The product allows for a wide range of energy efficiency improvements and has been adopted by several cities. It’s a great example of how cleantech does not necessarily need capital-intensive investments.
Advancing the next generation of geothermal energy technologies
Geothermal energy doesn’t quite have the glamor of wind, solar, or biomass and thus receives little media or popular interest. Even so, the resource has a number of advantages, including the reliability of base load power, low operating costs, and virtually no greenhouse gas emissions. More importantly, geothermal energy is immensely promising if new technologies […]
No energy is more expensive than no energy
Homi Bhabha, the architect of India’s nuclear industry, reportedly once declared that no form of energy was more expensive than having no energy. Consumers in the developing world without (or at the margins of) access to electricity can empathize with that sentiment. Renewable power technologies are becoming cheaper but several developing world consumers are “ignoring” […]
Geothermal energy in India
Thermax, a leading energy and environmental service firm in India, is partnering with Reykjavik Geothermal to develop power plants in India. A 3 MW pilot project in Ladakh has been planned. This deal is in alignment with similar deals Thermal has executed on in the recent past, seeking to strengthen its position as a supplier […]
Geothermal’s resurgence
The Wall Street Journal published today a good review of geothermal energy, which, “spurred by new technology and government funds, is enjoying a resurgence.”
If China is the “green giant,” how far behind can India be?
If China is the “green giant,” how far behind can India be? A recent story documents how companies are trying to develop technologies, plants, and businesses that convert rice husk into power, recycle electronic waste, commission green data centers, consolidate wind and solar power, and mass produce electric cars. Unlike China where its government is […]
Shell’s growing bet on biofuels
Shell’s $1.6 billion investment http:in Brazil’s Cosan to create a $12 billion joint venture indicates the company’s growing comfort with the economics of biofuels. Of course, sugarcane-based ethanol has always been far more viable economically than the U.S. focus on corn ethanol. Nevertheless, creating a separate JV integrating a variety of biofuels routes with an […]
Renewables M&A gets down to earth
KPMG has published an interesting survey of mergers and acquisitions in the renewable energy industry. Major conclusions include: Deal volume has, of course, fallen from nearly $26 billion in 2007 to a little over $18 billion in 2008 … … With the billion-dollar transactions of 2008 being replaced by smaller-sized deals in the $300-500 million […]
Will renewable energy benefit from R&D investments?
In a presentation, Rice University’s Baker Institute scholars have looked at patenting activity over the past few decades, government funding in R&D, and potential impacts on renewable energy. Their conclusion is surprising: Lower government funding in renewable energy reflects R&D’s declining productivity (based on patents) rather than lack of support. While more details are necessary […]
Friedman on solar energy: Invented in U.S., sold abroad
Tom Friedman visited Applied Materials recently and has written a piece in the New York Times hypothesizing why all of its solar panel factories are abroad. His conclusion: … their governments have put in place the three prerequisites for growing a renewable energy industry: 1) any business or homeowner can generate solar energy; 2) if […]
