Sep 04 2009

The Green Seen

Posted by: Leonard Anderson

Several items relating to the business and technology of clean energy and the environment caught our attention this week:

Palo Alto's city-owned electric utility is planning for an influx of electric cars now that Tesla Motors plans a new powertrain plant in the Stanford Research Park. Ten thousand electric cars charging battery packs during the day wouldn't strain Palo Alto's power grid as a whole but some local distribution transformers could run into problems, according to a preliminary report from the city's utility.

Legendary Silicon Valley venture capitalist Vinod Khosla has raised $1 billion for investments in renewable energy and clean technologies, the largest amount raised by a venture capital firm since 2007. It is also the first time that Khosla has raised money from other investors. Investors include the California Public Employees' Retirement System (Calpers), the biggest U.S. public pension fund. Investments will include green technologies such as solar power, biofuels and batteries.

The U.S. Energy Department is providing $11 million this year and next for advanced research in water power technologies at national laboratories in Colorado, New Mexico, Washington, Illinois and Tennessee. The funding is to evaluate buoys, turbines and other devices to produce electricity from the energy of ocean waves, tides and rivers, says Greenwire. The money will also support research to improve dams and other hydropower facilities.

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