Green State

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• Up on the roof

  Solar’s rapid evolution makes energy planners rethink the grid 43

  Posted 4 days, 7 hours ago by Todd Woody

  California's goal to generate a third of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020 has spawned a green energy boom. Connecting all those hinterland geothermal plants and solar and wind farms to the state's coastal metropolises means a massive new transmission system. But the fast-moving photovoltaic market may moot the need for some of those expensive and contentious transmission lines. Will energy planners have to rethink their long-term strategy? Read More

• Take it with a grain of salt

  SolarReserve’s 24/7 solar power plant 97

  Posted 1 week, 5 days ago by Todd Woody

  A Santa Monica startup called SolarReserve has licensed the solar power tower technology, turning the Silicon Valley model on its head: Take a proven yet obscure technology developed years ago by an old-line tech company and marry it the entrepreneurial culture of a startup. Read More

• technically good ideas

  Cleantech Open winners get it done quick and cheap 0

  Posted 3 weeks, 3 days ago by Todd Woody

  PET shingles, DIY solar arrays, smart thermostats. This year's Cleantech winners focus on getting products to market as fast and economically as they can. Read More

• Interns saving the world

  Climate Corps interns save Fortune 500 firms $54 million 4

  Posted 1 month ago by Todd Woody

  MBA students from the Environmental Defense Fund's Climate Corps identified energy efficiency measures that will save an estimated $54 million at Dell, eBay and 20 other Fortune 500 companies. Read More

• Whip it? Go for it ... move ahead ...

  Wheego joins the ranks of electric car startups 4

  Posted 2 months, 1 week ago by Todd Woody

  A decade after General Motors killed the electric car, big automakers and startups are revving up to put battery-powered vehicles on the road over the next couple of years. One of the latest entrants is Wheego, an Atlanta company that is about to launch the Whip. Read More

• Visions of the Green Future

  California students take Refract House to Solar Decathlon 5

  Posted 2 months, 3 weeks ago by Todd Woody

  On the Silicon Valley campus of Santa Clara University, workers are building a contemporary wood-clad home that wouldn't look out of place in the pages of Dwell or another shelter magazine for the po-mo, Tesla-driving, little-square-eyeglasses-wearing set.  Which is exactly the idea.  The home is California's entry into the U.S. Department of Energy's biannual Solar Decathlon and is a collaboration between undergraduates at Santa Clara University and the California College of the Arts… Read More

• A new approach to sustainable business

  Take the environment out of sustainability, argues former Sierra Club chief 4

  Posted 3 months ago by Todd Woody

  Adam Werbach, who made his name when he took the helm of the Sierra Club at age 23, has now written a how-to guide for companies to reframe the way they do business in a carbon-constrained, Twittering world. Read More

• Star power

  Mass. startup uses biotech smarts to take the corn out of ethanol 2

  Posted 3 months, 4 weeks ago by Todd Woody

  Joule Biotechnologies mixes bioengineered micro-organisms with carbon dioxide and solar energy to produce corn-free ethanol. Read More

• From this VantagePoint

  Silicon Valley VC sees bright future for green tech—and a need to engage policy makers 6

  Posted 4 months ago by Todd Woody

  VantagePoint Venture Partners is making big bets on green tech by funding nearly two dozen startups involved in everything from LED lighting to algae biofuels to water to the smart grid.  CEO Alan Salzman talks about what his firm sees ahead. Read More

• Talk to me, baby

  “Smart” appliances that talk to the grid are coming your way soon 5

  Posted 4 months, 1 week ago by Todd Woody

  The Jetsons are coming to life as dishwashers, washing machines, and other home appliances begin to talk to each other and to the electricity grid in an effort to manage and reduce energy use. Read More

• All Aboard the Plastiki

  David de Rothschild: Saving the world, one adventure at a time 9

  Posted 4 months, 2 weeks ago by Todd Woody

  The Plastiki is the latest project of British environmentalist and polar adventurer David de Rothschild, the 31-year-old scion of the famous banking family. De Rothschild and his crew of five plan a three-month voyage across the Pacific to draw attention to the Eastern Pacific Garbage Patch, a swirling mass of plastic trash twice the size of Texas. Read More

• Big Blue's electric green dreams

  IBM places big bet on lithium-air batteries 3

  Posted 4 months, 3 weeks ago by Todd Woody

  IBM has been recycling and repurposing a panoply of technologies to create a portfolio of environmental services -- everything from a traffic congestion pricing system in Stockholm to a smart water and electricity grid for Malta. Now Big Blue has its eye set on achieving a big leap forward in battery technology. Read More

• Symptom: High utility bills; Diagnosis: Full energy efficiency workup 4

  Posted 5 months ago by Todd Woody

• Hot new clean-tech startups are plug-and-play 4

  Posted 5 months, 1 week ago by Todd Woody

• Our peak oil future? Electric vehicle startup unveils Chinese-made, $45K ‘economy’ car 9

  Posted 5 months, 3 weeks ago by Todd Woody

• With green home venture, Sierra Club mixes profits with passion 4

  Posted 5 months, 3 weeks ago by Todd Woody

• Planting green moles in corporate America 2

  Posted 6 months ago by Todd Woody

• In solar biz, simple and cheap are keys to success 3

  Posted 6 months, 1 week ago by Todd Woody

• Pinko bastion spawns capitalist solution to solar financing 4

  Posted 6 months, 2 weeks ago by Todd Woody

• Shai Agassi: Green’s Steve Jobs 6

  Posted 6 months, 3 weeks ago by Todd Woody

• Policy chatter is on everyone’s lips at Fortune’s green-business conference 0

  Posted 7 months ago by Todd Woody

• California utility bets on space-based solar power 11

  Posted 7 months, 1 week ago by Todd Woody

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