As a self-proclaimed East Coast liberal intellectual who drinks Starbucks Grande Nonfat Decaf Lattes on a regular basis, I woke up this morning after the Mid-term elections of 2010 with a heavy heart.  I thought to myself, as I took public transportation to my office from my (more…)

The oil and gas interests that are behind Proposition 23 on the November 2nd ballot in California are faltering in the polls. That’s good news for the clean tech sector, but a less well-known ballot measure, Proposition 26, could still help pull the rug out from under California’s (more…)

Last month, the Department of Energy announced $57 million in awards to 33 small businesses dealing in the world of clean energy production in order to “accelerate commercialization of clean energy techniques, increase American competitiveness and create jobs.” The money is intended to help businesses (more…)

To those who drive behind diesel trucks, they know that these vehicles tend to be more slower moving and potentially smellier than other vehicles. Those who drive trucks know they are gasoline hogs (after all look at the weight they are hauling). They are a vital necessity for the (more…)

Lucky for Americans, information technology doesn’t appear to be owned by any one political party. If it were, Congress would still be squabbling over whether or not to support the Internet and you’d be reading this on paper rather than online.

Not so for energy. Generally speaking, Republicans tend to be pro-fossil fuel, while Democrats typically come down on the side (more…)

On September 30, California’s Governor Schwarzenegger signed Assembly Bill 2514 into law, which sets mandatory targets for energy storage systems in the utility sector. Groups such as the California Energy Storage Alliance have been working hard to promote this bill, the first of its kind.

Energy storage is being championed as (more…)

I was keeping a tally sheet at last week’s Renewable Energy Finance Forum, so I could let readers know the issue that was brought up most often and granted the most overall prominence. The clear winner: China is eating our lunch in the migration to renewables. Inexplicably and tragically, the US is content to drop further and further behind in the development of energy (more…)

The Renewable Electricity Promotion Act would require U.S. to get 15% of electricity from renewable sources by 2021

A bipartisan group of Senators Bingaman (D-NM), Brownback (R-KS), Dorgan (D-ND), Collins (R-ME), Udall (D-NM), and Udall (D-CO) introduced a 15% by 2021 renewable electricity standard (RES) bill. The (more…)

Pennsylvania knows power. Having pioneered both the nation’s first nuclear power plant and the world’s first commercial oil well, the Keystone State remains a top energy producer in the country. Now there’s a new energy revolution underway based on harnessing the sun, wind and other clean energy resources. There is no reason (more…)

The stimulus bill along with the $31B cleantech element focused on grants and loan guarantees through the Department of Energy was passed into law over 18 months ago. About a year ago I wrote about how the cleantech stimulus was not very stimulating to our economy. I suggested at that time that the goals of stimulus and of long-term investment are (more…)