Wind turbine maker Nordic Windpower, biofuel maker Solix Biofuels, and PC energy management firm Verdiem, all filed fund raising documents immediately after the holiday weekend. Smart thermostat maker EcoFactor also filed fundraising documents later in the week. Together the four companies have raised close to $25 million and plan to raise collectively a total of over $50 million.

Read the complete article at: http://earth2tech.com/2010/01/05/greentech-startups-kick-off-2010-with-fund-raising-rush/

According to SunWize officials, the contracts consist of 10 solar hospital projects to be installed in locations across the country. The diverse set of rooftop and carport systems vary in size from under 50 kW to more than 400 kW, and are located on VA facilities from the East Coast to the South Pacific. 

Read more at: http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20100105005481&newsLang=en

Second Wind’s wind resource assessment solutions are now used in over 40 countries worldwide, including Antarctica and the Sahara. Its’ products are particularly advantageous because they work under most weather conditions and locations; can be set up easily by one person and do not need to be attended; are safe and have minimal impact on the landscape; include built-in synchronized time and location stamping; and provide the same data as a tower bristling with sensors.

The campaign includes a new carbon footprint report available inside its “Mobile Control” product, along with a new whitepaper resource to help customers and prospects make the case for a green initiative and get one off the ground.

SageQuest found via a recent survey, that 57 percent of their customers either had a green initiative in place or were planning on implementing one. More business opportunities or requiring or preferring vendors to have green initiatives in place or are in the process of putting them in place officials said.

Read the full story at http://green.tmcnet.com/topics/green/articles/62152-sagequest-helps-fleets-go-green.htm

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) – the Defense Dept. agency that helped invent the Internet – is setting its sights on cleantech by trying to change how both the military and civilian worlds consume and produce energy. DARPA is devoting an estimated $100 million of its $3 billion annual budget to alternative energy.

In addition to spurring the development of palm-size fuel cells, DARPA has contracted with companies to miniaturize solar cells that would supplant the need for generators. It now wants to develop inexpensive diesel and jet fuel from algae that could be produced in the battle zone. All three programs aim to accelerate the production of new products by private companies, from whom the military could buy.

Read more are http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_31/b4141032537895_page_2.htm

The GREENnet switch-based technology reduces power consumptions by supplying the appropriate amount of electrical power to each hardwired switching port as required by the connected device, the port, or by the length of the connected Ethernet cable.

Learn more at http://www.trendnet.com/image/news/articles/processor_070309.pdf

The project includes the installation of solar panels on the tower’s 90th floor roof to heat water used in the building. Different types of wind turbines will also be positioned on the tower’s tiered roofs and tested for efficiency.

“This endeavor is incredibly important as a role model for others to follow,” architect Adrian Smith said. “We see this as a groundbreaking opportunity.”

Other changes to the 110-story skyscraper, the tallest building in the United States, include improvements to the 16,000 window pieces along the outside of the tower to save heating energy; mechanical system upgrades; updates to the building’s 104 elevators; an advanced lighting control system and restroom renovations aimed at saving water.

Sounds like a great example for other building to follow! Read more at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/24/sears-tower-getting-350m_n_220257.html

In addition, the excess heat from the computer will be piped into the building’s heating. The 25 kilowatt system will account for just “a small fraction” of the building’s overall energy demand, but researchers said future applications are promising. According to IBM, Aquasar will reduce overall energy consumption by 40 percent and save up to 30 tons of carbon dioxide a year, which is about the equivalent of driving an average car around the world 10 times!

For more information, see: http://blogs.reuters.com/environment/2009/06/23/ibm-supercomputer-reuses-heat-to-warm-buildings/

In April, QD Vision was amongst fourteen projects to receive solid-state lighting (SSL) funding opportunities from The National Energy Technology Laboratory, on behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

Last week the company launched its first commercial product and was also awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II contract by the U.S. Army as part of its Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate (NVESD). With the grant, QD Vision will develop micro-displays based on quantum dot-based light-emitting devices (QLEDs) for NVESD.

QD’s LED bulbs look slightly different than traditional “down lamps,” such as those in home track lighting, but fit standard fixtures using the same “screw-in” mechanism that has been around for decades. The products are expected to be generally available in the fourth quarter of this year.

Find out more at:
http://www.qdvision.com/index.html

One hot topic was the fact that GE and Whirlpool plan on adding communications modules in their appliances to give utilities the ability to turn them down during peak power demand times. According to GE Consumer & Industrial vice president Kevin Nolan in a May press release, “GE will help consumers significantly decrease power usage during peak demand periods, which will help the utilities reduce the need for more power generation and help consumers save on their energy bills.” This sounds great, but a major stumbling block remains –what communication standard will be used to get everyone talking in the same language? Will it be ZigBee, WiFi, cellular, a powerline signal, or something else entirely?

It sounds like it’s anyone’s guess. At ConnectivityWeek, GE’s David Najewicz noted that “Some of the early hardware we’re building has three radios in it.”

Obviously, the smart home appliance is on its way, and it’s going to be interesting to watch the different communications technologies jockey for position. With Whirlpool committing to smart appliances by the year 2015, and other manufacturers also jumping on board, a winning standard should emerge soon. We’ll keep watching!