Green Tech

Green gadgets get middling report card at CES

Martin LaMonica — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 11:56:00 PST

Consumers are increasingly demanding better environmental attributes in their digital gadgets, but the consumer electronics industry can go a lot further to make gadgets "green."

Environmental watchdog Greenpeace held a press conference at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Friday to announce results of its second annual survey ...

Green news harvest: Exxon CEO calls for carbon tax

Martin LaMonica — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 08:16:00 PST

Exxon CEO advocates emissions tax -- The Wall Street Journal

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Obama's stimulus plan: The energy debate

Martin LaMonica — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 07:45:00 PST

Shortly after President-elect Barack Obama set a goal of doubling the country's renewable energy in three years, the jockeying over the energy portions of his administration's stimulus plan began.

At a speech at George Mason University on Thursday, Obama repeated his intention to promote the development of clean-technologies ...

Positive Energy sheds light on home energy

Martin LaMonica — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 04:00:00 PST

If Daniel Yates, founder and CEO of Positive Energy, hits his goal this year, he'll unplug the equivalent of 75,000 homes.

The Arlington, Va.-based company late last month revealed that it has raised $14 million from New Energy Associates to build up its software service designed to ...

Smart grid companies want stimulus cash from feds

Stephanie Condon — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 15:00:00 PST

WASHINGTON--When politicians are doling out trillions of tax dollars in bailouts and so-called stimulus spending, nobody should be surprised if the line of businesses queuing for cash snakes all the way around the Capitol building. The latest idea: more spending on smart grids.

The idea of a smart grid is ...

Originally posted at News - Politics and Law

Termite stomach bug to make ethanol

Martin LaMonica — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 21:01:00 PST

ZeaChem, a company that uses the microbes in termite guts to make ethanol, said on Thursday it has raised $34 million to build its first plant.

The biorefinery, which could be located in Boardman, Ore., will begin operating next year, making 1.5 million gallons of ethanol a year from ...

Cree wins contract to light the Pentagon

Candace Lombardi — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 11:10:00 PST

LED manufacturer Cree has been awarded a contract from the U.S. Department of Defense to supply over 4,200 recessed LED lights for the Pentagon, the company announced Tuesday. Financial details were not disclosed.

Testing commissioned by the U.S. government determined that Cree's LR24 recessed LED lights ...

Energy monitor sees $7.5 million in funding round

Candace Lombardi — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 09:24:00 PST

Sentilla's microcomputers for monitoring energy consumption are just larger than a dime.

(Credit: Sentilla)

Sentilla, a company that makes energy management technology for industrial and commercial facilities, announced Wednesday that it has secured $7.5 million in Series B funding from Onset Ventures and Claremont Creek Ventures.

The ...

Public clean-tech firms get clobbered

Martin LaMonica — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 09:10:00 PST

Amid the carnage of last year's stock-market performance, shares in clean-energy firms fared worse than others, according to data published Wednesday by researcher New Energy Finance.

That dramatic decline--at one point going below 2003 levels--was despite some of the most advantageous political and economic factors for clean technologies in ...

Firm claims silver bullet for 'vampire loads'

Martin LaMonica — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 04:00:00 PST

A Spanish company says it has developed a way to kill the vampires lurking in your living room--the numerous appliances that suck electricity even when they are not in use.

Good for You, Good for the Planet received a patent for a microprocessor-based design that cuts an electronic machine's electricity use to zero. It is now negotiating with several large manufacturers to incorporate the technology into power strips or into appliances, according to President Jorge Juan García Alonso.

Test products are being used at customers, including at a hotel and office building in Spain, according to a report. Commercially available products could be made more broadly available in a matter of months if the company successfully licenses its patent, García Alonso said.

Taking a bite out of electronic vampires could significantly reduce wasted energy. Good for You, Good for Planet says that a TV consumes more electricity per year when it's off than when it's on because the stand-by mode consumes electricity.

(Credit: Good Magazine)

In the U.S., "vampire energy" is about 5 percent of the energy consumed in the country and costs consumers $3 billion each year, according to the Department of Energy. Researchers at the University of California estimate that reducing stand-by power loss could save the U.S. $10 billion.

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