Electric Car Blogging

A sampling of green-tech news with quick commentary.

• U.N.: Financial chills are ill wind for climate–Associated Press
  The Kyoto Protocol is structured around investing in projects that clean up pollution, often in developing countries. Without active financing, that could slow dramatically, says a U.N. negotiator.
• What to expect from cleantech in the downturn–VentureBeat

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Even with the teetering economy, solar companies are bullish that tapping free energy from the sun is a solid financial move.

SkyFuel, a company spun out of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), on Friday is hosting an event to unveil its solar power plant system: a parabolic trough made …

A sampling of green-tech news with quick commentary.

• Konarka opens world’s largest roll-to-roll thin-film solar manufacturing facility with 1 gigawatt nameplate capacity - Press release
  After many years of development, Konarka boosts production of plastic solar cells it wants to embed in everything from cell phone chargers to more

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When it comes to energy policy, both presidential candidates want carbon regulations, better efficiency, and more renewable energy. The biggest differences lie in emphasis–drilling, nuclear energy–and what role the federal government should play.

During the second presidential debate on Tuesday, Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama both cited the need …

The Army plans to install a 500-megawatt solar thermal power farm at a Fort Irwin, Calif., base as part of its bid to reduce a billion annual energy bill, spent mostly on installations.

Nellis Air Force Base solar panels.

(Credit: U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Larry E.

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To get under the hood of transportation technology, just talk to John Heywood.

Heywood, a professor of mechanical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and his colleagues took the proverbial big-picture view of transportation in a recent report on how the U.S. could slash gasoline usage by 2035.
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Solyndra, a start-up making thin-film photovoltaic systems, has secured 0 million in funding.

It’s additionally secured .2 billion in contracts from clients in the U.S. and Europe, the Fremont, Calif.-based company revealed Tuesday.

What start-up gets that kind of funding and client promise? Basically, one that’…

The creaking electricity grid got a shot in the arm on Tuesday from venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, which is leading a million investment in smart-grid start-up Silver Spring Networks.

The money will fund the company’s expansion globally, Kleiner Perkins partner John Doerr said in …