If you were to fly over the great continental expanse of China at night, you would find clusters of bright lights hugging near the eastern coast — sprawling, populous cities such as Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen. But the farthest west you travel, the fewer such illuminated megalopolises you would encounter. To be sure, China also has (more…)

In a sharply worded analysis that will cause fear and trembling in the U.S. cleantech industry, a group of three research and policy organizations have produced a report saying that a cleantech collapse is imminent in this country unless subsidies, incentives, and federal policies are extended and reformed. Entitled “Beyond Boom & Bust,” the lengthy report from the Brookings (more…)

In previous posts (here and here), I discussed the IP litigation in China between American Superconductor (AMSC) and Chinese wind energy system maker Sinovel.

The of heart of the dispute is AMSC’s allegations that Sinovel misappropriated its proprietary software code for controlling wind turbines and power converters. (more…)

First Solar, Inc., the U.S.’s biggest solar manufacturer, will lay off 2,000 workers and close its German factory, citing what the company called fundamental changes to the industry and “deteriorating market conditions” in Europe.

The Arizona-based company, which had been the (more…)

Joe Oliver, co-director of social enterprise “We Impact,” is on a mission to “develop and promote opportunities to realize sustainable lifestyles around the world through the dissemination of knowledge, cultural engagement and responsible business.” Operating out of Beijing and London, the social enterprise provides innovative green solutions to (more…)

China installed a record 18,000 megawatts of new wind energy in 2011, boosting its total capacity to nearly 63,000 megawatts and widening its lead in the global wind energy sector, according to the Earth Policy Institute (EPI).

The U.S., which was passed by China for total wind (more…)

In a webinar earlier this year, my colleague Kerry-Ann Adamson forecast that that governments will move toward a more prescriptive approach to energy policy. In other words, they will not simply set broad efficiency or emissions targets but will specifically identify the clean energy technologies to reach those targets. Examples are Australia, with its recommendations for distributed (more…)

Bowing to increasing public concern about poor air quality, the Chinese government has approved strict new air pollution standards, including tougher rules for ozone and for particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter.

The new rules, approved during an executive meeting (more…)

Is there movement already under way in the world of industry which will outstrip the painfully slow progress of the political world in facing up to the challenge of climate change? Amory Lovins certainly thinks so and his recent book, Reinventing Fire: Bold Business Solutions for the New Energy Era, explains why. Lovins is the co-founder, chairman and chief scientist (more…)

SunEarth (owned and operated by the Solaray Corporation since 1992) has been marketing and selling solar thermal collectors and related components under the SUNEARTH brand since 1978.

In 2009, SunEarth filed an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) seeking federal trademark protection for the SUNEARTH word mark. (more…)