Cleantech Update

Oxford Instruments Manufactures  Sophisiticated R& D and production equipment that innovators are using for cutting edge cleantech and renewable energy product developemnt,among other things. Here is the announccement for a recent contract they one. -Editor Oxford Instruments Plasma Technology (OIPT) has just received a 3 system order from the prestigious new Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication (MCN) in Australia. The systems, two Plasmalab® System100 ICP380 tools and a Plasmalab System100 PECVD system, have been bought as part of the Centre’s programme to equip their cleanrooms with state of the art instrumentation for nano and micro scale fabrication. Oxford Instruments has a reputation for working with and equipping many renowned universities and research institutes throughout Europe and USA. That fact and the flexibility of OIPT’s tools were important criteria in MCN’s decision to choose OIPT as a strategic partner. The MCN is the Victorian node ...

Who says a solar company has to choose between conventional silicon and thin-film solar cells? RoseStreet Labs Energy , a Phoenix-based private company, is combining the two in a double-layered cell that it claims can achieve “practical efficiencies” – meaning efficiencies of cells actually available on the market, not just in the lab – of 25 to 30 percent . On Monday, the company announced the world’s first (or as RoseStreet put it, the “first known”) nitride/silicon tandem solar cell, which it plans to produce in the fourth quarter of next year. The potential efficiency might not sound breathtaking considering that the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency both announced last year that they had produced cells that achieved more than 40 percent efficiency in the lab. But lab efficiencies and production efficiencies are not the same thing, and the highest efficiencies for mass-produced solar cells hover around 22 percent. SunPower Cor...

Silver Springs acquires Greenbox Technology This brings Silverspring up to Par with emeter in terms of product offering - they both will now offer all three components to the Smart Grid: IP meters Managmenet Software Network services -Editor Redwood City, Calif., September 22, 2009 — Silver Spring Networks, a smart grid solutions provider, entered into an agreement to acquire Greenbox Technology, a provider of web-based energy management software. The Greenbox interactive energy management web portal, built by the creators of FlashTM, delivers on a key benefit of the smart grid — enabling consumers to track, understand and manage their energy usage more efficiently. "We're thrilled to have the distinguished Greenbox Technology team join us," said Judy Lin, Chief Product Officer of Silver Spring Networks. "We are working with utilities to build the platform for a smarter grid. This acquisition allows Silver Spring to provide another critical application...

RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif. — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday is expected to sign an executive order giving California the nation's most aggressive alternative energy standards, requiring utilities to get a third of their power from renewable sources by 2020. The order comes three days after state lawmakers passed legislation mandating the same goal but in a way the governor's office says is too restrictive. Schwarzenegger opposes the Democratic bills in part because they would limit how much wind, solar and geothermal energy utilities could import from other states. His office also said the bills would impose too many regulatory hurdles. A spokesman says Schwarzenegger will veto them. The executive order, to be signed in a Sacramento suburb, will give California the nation's most aggressive standards for renewable energy. Hawaii has a 40 percent requirement but allows a longer timeframe, giving its utilities until 2030 to meet the standard. Supporters of the Dem...

Sep 11, 2009 Mitsubishi Electric announced the launch of ten new models of photovoltaic (PV) modules - five for the European market and five for North America and Asia. The new lineup comprises modules with outputs of 210, 220, 225, 230 and 235 watts. Shipments will begin on January 15, 2010. Mitsubishi said the new modules use lead-free solder and incorporate PV cells with four bus bars. Using the new cells in combination with an increased module size achieves a power output of up to 235 watts per module. Larger output means that fewer modules are needed to build a system, helping to reduce total system cost. The new models will be on display at the 24th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition starting September 21, in Hamburg, Germany, and also at Solar Power International The Rest @ Trading Markets.com

There has been a resurgence of investment interest in the U.S. biofuel industry focused on technologies that use algae to make fuel. The appeal of algae is that it can potentially produce fuel without diverting food crops or large swathes of land. Ethanol derived from corn has been blamed by some for driving up food prices, while large-scale production of cellulosic ethanol would require cultivation of plants such as switchgrass that are grown only in small amounts now. When exposed to light and carbon-dioxide, pools of algae produce lipids that can be refined into oil. The algae consumes the carbon-dioxide during the process, scoring a double hit for protecting the environment. Drawn by that potential, Exxon Mobil Corp. in July announced it was investing $600 million in a partnership with Synthetic Genomics Inc. of La Jolla, Calif., to develop commercially viable biofuels from algae. That followed an announcement by Dow Chemical Co. in June that it was teaming up with Algenol Bi...

The Obama administration on Friday used the California site of a planned solar-panel factory to complete the first-ever loan guarantee for a renewable-energy project, a $535 million deal that will allow Solyndra Inc. to create hundreds of jobs. The announcement, outlined by Vice President Joe Biden and Energy Secretary Steven Chu in a region battered by an auto-factory shutdown, comes as Obama administration officials are hoping to show that investments in clean energy projects can help reverse almost two years of job losses. In March, Solyndra became the first company awarded a loan guarantee under a 2005 program intended to spur renewable energy projects. But the company for months had been unable to lock in the loan because of problems raising the necessary private funds required by the Energy Department to close the deal. Fortunately for Solyndra, its venture backers stepped up, investing $198 million in equity in a round led by shareholder Argonaut Private Equity, an investm...

Trinia gets new loan as Solar prices drop., taking adavance of their stock trippling in the last year.

Posted by Roger Valdez 09/03/2009 03:00 PM During Washington’s last legislative session, I wrote glowingly about a bill introduced by Representative Hans Dunshee that would have sold $3 billion in bonds for energy efficiency retrofits in public schools across the state. It didn’t pass. But what appealed to me was that this idea is a 3 for 1 deal. A win, win, win. It could reduce climate changing emissions, create much-needed green jobs in local communities (reviving a flagging economy), and save money on energy bills. In fact, it could create enough savings to pay back the bonds. I called it Green Increment Financing. Maybe this kind of far-thinking, money-saving, job-creating, innovative policy will pass next time around. Meanwhile, I have found out that this kind of financing is already happening in the Northwest—albeit on a much smaller scale—hundreds of thousands of dollars versus the hundreds of millions it would take to retrofit all schools. It’s called Energy Service Perfor...

Note the Roles here: Energy User ( Starwood Hotels) Carbon Broker (Sterling Planet) Energy Producer (Constellation NewEnergy) For power for the Republican National Convention. BALTIMORE, Aug. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Constellation Energy (NYSE: CEG) today announced that its subsidiary, Constellation NewEnergy, is supplying green power to nine Starwood hotel properties in New York City during this week's Republican National Convention. The power agreement covers all the Sheraton and W hotels in Manhattan as well as the St. Regis. Constellation NewEnergy purchased renewable energy credits from Sterling Planet to meet Starwood's anticipated peak demand during the convention, approximately 10,054 megawatt hours. "It's a privilege to be supplying green power to Starwood for this premier event," said Clem Palevich, president, Constellation NewEnergy. "Like Starwood, we're committed to environmental stewardship and proud to be a leader in...

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Grid Access Act of 2009 - A bill to amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to promote energy independence, increase competition, democratize energy generation, and provide for the connection of certain small electric energy generation systems, and for other purposes. Source  @ GovTrack It was introduced May 6, 2009, Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA ) to add definitions of combined heat and power facility as well as net metering . Requires each state regulatory authority with ratemaking authority, and each nonregulated electric utility, to conduct a hearing and, on the basis of such hearing, adopt a net metering standard. Requires retail electric suppliers to offer to arrange to make net metering available to retail customers on a first-come-first-served basis. Prescribes implementation requirements regarding: (1) net energy measurement; (2) billing p...

The Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (or PURPA) was a law passed in 1978 by the United States Congress as part of the National Energy Act . It was meant to promote greater use of renewable energy. This law created a market for non-utility electric power producers forcing electric utilities to buy power from these producers at the "avoided cost" rate, which was the cost the electric utility would incur were it to generate or purchase from another source. Generally, this is considered to be the fuel costs incurred in the operation of a traditional power plant. Although a Federal law, the implementation was left to the States and a variety of regulatory regimes developed, although in many states virtually nothing was done. The biggest result has been the prevalence of cogeneration plants, which produce electric power and steam. They are encouraged by the law on the theory that they harness the thermal energy (in the form of usable steam) that would otherwise be wasted...