With the emergence of China as the globe’s cleantech powerhouse (see Why China has already overtaken the U.S. in cleantech), it’s become fashionable for cleantech companies with products to sell to target China seeking large purchase orders.

What’s not been so popular is to go to China seeking (more…)

South Africa’s Eskom has secured a $100 million credit facility from French development finance group Agence Française de Développement for financing a wind power project.

The loan will be used to finance Eskom’s 100-megawatt Sere Wind Project in Vredendal in South (more…)

As part of its ongoing commitment to alternative energy, the latest news from Google is that the internet giant has invested $75 million in a residential solar fund with Clean Power Finance, a provider of integrated services and financing solutions for the solar industry. (more…)

It’s the fall, and the discontent of American billionaires, like that of New York Mets fans, is rising. Not only has laconic investment guru Warren Buffett demanded that the U.S. levy more taxes on the privileged, i.e., super-wealthy people like him; but also another group of billionaires (or at least hundreds-of-millionaires) has (more…)

After decades of venture capital investment, growth and exit, the traditional focus areas of venture capital (such as IT, web and software) have developed strong entrepreneurial ecosystems. A high percentage of start-ups in these traditional areas come to market with one or more experienced entrepreneurs or (more…)

I called my friend, clean energy finance expert Bill Paul for some advice the other day. “I have a client with a breakthrough in battery chemistry, and I’m trying to find them a manufacturing partner in the electric vehicles space. Where do you think I should look?” I asked. (more…)

Yesterday morning Paula Mints from Navigant Consulting shared her insights on the latest global solar PV market trends with us – a timely webinar topic given the highly publicized fallout from those very global market dynamics. Paula put a firm kibosh on assertions that the aforementioned Solyndra failure (more…)

While solar thermal plant costs are expected to “decline steadily as plants get bigger”, pinpointing how costs can otherwise be reduced remains a challenge, due to the presence of many variables.

CSP Today’s latest report, ‘CSP Parabolic Trough Report – Cost & Performance’, provides (more…)

Last month, Newt Gingrich-trained spokesman for anti-global warming forces, Mark Morano, announced on Fox TV the “collapse of global warming science.” And he’s got legions reiterating his message. According to Morano, 7 of 8 lobbyists on global warming are now “anti-action” lobbyists. (more…)

Who says solar is too expensive? In fact, in many places it is cheaper than the fossil fueled alternative. How do we know? Well, one place to start is to look at actual contracts for projects.

Attached here (Excel file) is a chart of California Renewable Portfolio Standard contracts downloaded (more…)