Category Archives: Cleantech

The 2nd ARPA-E Summit: Same as it ever was?

Posted on March 7, 2011 by

The second ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit last week was a big dose of déjà vu for me. I had the privilege of attending last year as well, so I’ve gotten a chance to see how this energy R&D conference has … Continue reading →

Posted in Cleantech, Policy | 3 Comments

The miracle of 80% by 2035

Posted on February 2, 2011 by

President Obama made a pretty bold (and frankly unexpected) statement in the State of the Union address last week: Now, clean energy breakthroughs will only translate into clean energy jobs if businesses know there will be a market for what they’re … Continue reading →

Posted in Cleantech, Policy | 9 Comments

Get the data out!

Posted on November 4, 2010 by

Data is everywhere, but you can’t always get at it. It’s trapped in millions of silos, each with its own proprietary way of representing that data. Not all this data is “big data.” Some of it’s unsexy, and very low … Continue reading →

Posted in Cleantech, Software | Leave a comment

I drove a Tesla Roadster this weekend.

Posted on October 28, 2010 by

I’ve rode shotgun in electric vehicles (EVs) before, but this weekend was my first time driving one. Thanks to my good friends at the HBS Energy Symposium, I got the opportunity to take a Tesla Roadster 2.5 for a spin … Continue reading →

Posted in Electric vehicles | 1 Comment

Engaging the consumer at GridWeek

Posted on October 21, 2010 by

I spent the beginning of this week in our nation’s capital, attending one of the smart grid’s flagship conferences: GridWeek. While the big theme last year was the timing of the advanced meter infrastructure (AMI) rollout, as well as standards … Continue reading →

Posted in Smart grid | 3 Comments

Cleantech questions from Harvard Business School

Posted on October 13, 2010 by

If there’s one thing you learn at Harvard Business School (HBS),  it’s how to ask a good question. It’s a real skill, and one that does not come naturally. HBS is very good at using repetition and social pressure to … Continue reading →

Posted in Advice, Cleantech | 4 Comments

Will solar in 2011 look like automobiles in 1911?

Posted on October 7, 2010 by

The automobile traces its roots back to Europe — first to France in 1860 with the invention of the internal combustion engine, and then to Germany in 1876 with the invention of the 4-stroke gasoline engine. In the United States, … Continue reading →

Posted in Cleantech | Leave a comment

Is demand response a commodity yet?

Posted on September 22, 2010 by

Two pieces of news broke last week that I thought were pretty significant. One is that Constellation Energy announced on Friday its intent to acquire demand response (DR) provider CPower. The other is that World Energy Solutions (NASDAQ: XWES; TSX: … Continue reading →

Posted in Demand-side management | 5 Comments

Dear pundits: Energy policy needs an ROI

Posted on September 9, 2010 by

If only U.S. energy policy were judged by the same economic criteria we use for startups. While most of the time, I use my blog to write about startups in energy and cleantech, I felt the need to address a … Continue reading →

Posted in Cleantech, Policy | 5 Comments

Is Facebook bigger than energy storage?

Posted on September 1, 2010 by

I had decided not to post anything this week since I suspect most of my readers are busy enjoying the last few days of summer. What convinced me to write was an excellent point brought up Tuesday by Earth2Tech editor … Continue reading →

Posted in Cleantech, Software | 1 Comment