GreenBeat 2009

With the aid of a microbe found in termites and $25 million in DOE grants awarded today, ZeaChem is proposing to build a trial sized biofuels refinery in Boardman, Ore...

You’ve probably heard the story by now of the Bakersfield man, Peter Flores, suing PG&E because his energy bill tripled after the company installed a smart meter at his house. ...

Ameren Corp. has planned their first solar power projects in St. Louis, Mo. and Illinois. This is a big step, as the company currently generates 85 percent of its power from coal, 10 to 15 percent from nuclear and a few watts from methane and hyrdoelectric sources...

Cisco Systems has officially launched its Smart+Connected Communities program in San Francisco, signing on to provide multiple technologies to make the city more sustainable, and partnering with local government, and maybe even the United Nations, in a new laboratory working to reduce global...

In the research center of Tsukuba City, just outside Tokyo, the first real world vehicle and grid storage experiments are underway...

Capstone MicroTurbine issued a press release on the jaw-dropping CMT-380 concept car yesterday. The 380 is an unlikely supercar: It contains lithium ion batteries, a diesel-electric turbine and design work from Electronic Arts’ creative director Richard Hilleman. ...

Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens and master currency speculator George Soros have both gone green in the last several years. Now it could be Warren Buffett’s turn to crank up his participation in the cleantech sector. ...

The success of a cleaner, more efficient super grid hinges on the development of large-capacity storage...

China isn’t going to be a proactive player at the climate talks in Copenhagen starting next week, according to a government representative. ...

Downey, Calif. is one step closer to becoming home to Tesla Motors‘ pricey new assembly plant. The City Council voted earlier this week to approve a memorandum of understanding with the Industrial Realty Group, the company that manages the 80-acre tract of land that Tesla is considering. ...

Tesla Motors may have finally picked a site for its new Model S Assembly plant — an announcement that has been awaited with bated breath by California politicians and those in the advanced vehicle industry for months. ...

According to a recently released National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study, hybrid-electric vehicles are up to twice as dangerous to pedestrians as traditional cars. The effect is at its worst in the city, when HEVs are almost silent...

At this time last week, we were just about to kick off our inaugural GreenBeat conference focused on the Smart Grid. We’re thrilled to still be receiving valuable feedback and new ideas for the event next year. ...

Less than a month after it handed out $3.4 billion in stimulus grants to utilities working toward a cleaner, more efficient electrical grid, the U.S. Department of Energysays it is doling out another $620 million to projects working on demonstration-scale Smart Grid technologies...