Thank you to the 200 CleanTechies and friends that came to usher me into my 30’s and raised over $4,000 for GRID Alternatives – an impressive sum for a great night of partying!

Here are a couple of pictures from the night. For many more, please go to photographer and dear friend Philipp Weitz’s website (click on “Galleries”, scroll down to our event, and use “cleantechies” as the password).  As you can see, he took some amazing shots of the party, and you can get them printed and sent to you. Bonus of bonuses: He’s donating the proceeds to GRID Alternatives!

(more…)

when it comes to renewable energy. The city of Corvallis, Oregon, is No. 1 when it comes to purchasing green power, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Power Communities Program.

The city of 55,000, about 90 minutes from Portland, purchases 13 percent of its electricity from environmentally-friendly sources, or more than 100 million kilowatts (100,000 megawatts). The largest purchaser of renewable juice there is Oregon State University, thanks to a “green fee” passed by students in 2007. The sources include wind, solar, geothermal, biogas, biomass and low-impact hydro, according to city officials.

(more…)

Coal is dirty. Nuclear is dangerous. Wind and solar are intermittent. Trash is a constant, which brings us to landfill gas.

People throw things away. They recycle, sure, but consider all the waste in the world the next time you unpack your groceries. Product packaging alone can fill your trash can after one trip to the supermarket.

Garbage goes into landfills, where it decomposes,  and creates methane, a gas much more potent than the whipping boy, carbon dioxide. For years, landfills have gotten rid of this gas, which builds up inside, by flaring it off. Burning it, wasting it.

(more…)

Courtesy GSEA

“Georgia, Georgia, the whole day through
Just an old sweet song
Keeps Georgia on my mind”

You probably know the Ray Charles song. The Solar Energy Industries Association is singing it now. The trade group says Georgia sun is a major, untapped resource. Some of the best rays in the country, even the world, shine down on the state.

Georgia has another distinction, as a primary user and generator of coal-fired electricity in the United States, in part due to the energy-intensive wood and paper products industries centered there, the Energy Information Administration says.

But, done right, rooftop solar alone could generate more than a quarter of the power needs for Georgia, or more than nuclear does today, according to SEIA, the U.S. trade association for solar energy and related businesses.

The expansion of more than two dozen existing solar companies in Georgia could create hundreds of new jobs, too, says Association CEO Rhone Resch.

Georgia has its own Solar Energy Association, with more than 140 members.

(more…)

With all the discussion surrounding the US economic stimulus package, which will nudge into Europe and the rest of the globe in the coming months, I have been tracking the job boards on sites like CleanTechies to see if I can spot a trend in the sort of people that are being attracted to clean tech organisations around the world.

(more…)

Yesterday I caught up with Adam Browning, Co-Founder and Executive director of Vote Solar, a non-profit with the expressed goal of building the economies of scale necessary to bring down solar’s costs.

We talked about PG&E’s 500MW proposal presented to California’s Public Utilities Commission last week, how it compares to recent similar proposals, interest and participation from IPP (Independent Power Producers) and the impact the proposal could have on jobs creation and policy changes.

(more…)

CleanTechies has a strong social mission and is dedicated to supporting individuals and organizations in bringing clean technologies and green energy to more businesses, residences and communities. We are glad to announce that we are supporting GRID Alternatives, a San Francisco Bay Area not-for-profit providing renewable energy and energy efficiency services to communities in need. On March 7, CleanTechies is kicking off its philanthropic activities by hosting a fundraiser party in San Francisco. All proceeds of the event will go to GRID Alternatives. This will be the first in a series of events with a dual purpose, to bring together CleanTech community members in support of local causes and to provide networking opportunities.

(more…)

I recently had the chance to speak with Catherine Potter, Manager of Consumer Content at Positive Energy.

Matthew Benson:  What is Positive Energy?

Catherine Potter:  Every energy utility faces a fundamental challenge of balancing supply with demand.  They can add more capacity or they can reduce demand to make the math work.  We help utilities reduce demand in the residential sector, by providing tools and ideas that encourage and enable consumers to reduce energy use.  In this way, utilities can look at us as an efficiency power plant.

(more…)

That was to be read to the tune of “Speed Racer.”  If this makes no sense….check out the video below.

Consolidation is happening fast – and those with cash…. win.

Following their big announcement last week of breaking the $1/watt barrier, this morning First Solar announced that it has bought up OptiSolar’s deal pipeline for a cool $400M.  While this is truly huge news, that OptiSolar was going to sell its projects should not come as too big a shocker given OptiSolar’s slashed its headcount by 50% and decided not move ahead with it’s central valley production facility.

(more…)

	Today, CleanTechies was awarded as “Best Blog of the Day” by the Blog of the Day Awards. The award comes only two months after CleanTechies was awarded 2nd place for “Best Business Blog” by the Weblog Awards.
“We are psyched to receive this award,” says Ian Thomson, CEO and Co-founder of CleanTechies. “It shows that CleanTechies is on the right way to becoming the leading career services forum providing insight, orientation, and opportunities for the CleanTech community.”

(more…)