Written by Katie Fehrenbacher
We talk a lot about new energy opportunities and technology breakthroughs here on Earth2Tech, and less about the high risks involved in developing new cleantech markets and commercializing unproven technologies. But at the Berkeley-Stanford CleanTech Conference this week, there was a lot of discussion over the tensions between venture capitalists backing new technologies and the utilities, regulatory and industry groups in charge of bringing the clean power to the people.
Sue Kateley, executive director of the solar industry group California Solar Energy Industries Association, said she was concerned about venture capitalists flushing money into companies that promise to offer and install solar for free (no up-front costs) to consumers. “The free reckless solar thing can kill the industry,” Kately said, explaining that she saw similar business models that went under in the energy boom decades ago.
Utilities’ motivations can come into conflict with those of venture capitalists when it comes to the price of contracts for utility-scale renewable deals like solar thermal power plants. Roy Kuga, VP in the energy supply division of California utility PG&E, said that while the company would like to deliver the most competitive price for customers, venture-backed startups are looking for higher-priced contracts in order to deliver the kind of financial returns that venture firms want (startups Ausra, BrightSource, eSolar and Infinia are all venture-backed).
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Written by Irina Haltsonen
As the debate over whether countries should mandate more or less biofuels rages on, Finland’s diesel car drivers — at least in the Helsinki area — now have a chance to fill up their tanks with a new diesel fuel blend whose biodiesel content is at least 10 percent. Neste Oil, Finland’s biggest oil refiner, launched the new biodiesel blend commercially this week, called Neste Green diesel; the biofuel is a mixture of fossil fuel diesel and Neste Oil’s NExBTL Renewable diesel, which is based on renewable raw materials such as palm oil, rapeseed oil and animal fats.
Neste Oil aims to become the global leader in renewable diesel. The company is currently producing NExBTL in one refinery in Porvoo, Finland; a second plant is also under construction elsewhere in the country. A third, which the company claims will be the biggest biodiesel production plant in the world, is currently being built in Singapore. Neste is also said to be looking for investments to build additional plants in the future, potentially in the Benelux countries in Western Europe or in the U.S.
Many, however, oppose the shift to biofuels made partly of palm oil, arguing that it, too, is far from environmentally friendly. Today a European Union directive mandates that each member country should have at least 2 percent of bio or renewable ingredients in transport fuels.
In Helsinki, Greenpeace activists welcomed the new Neste Green diesel by locking the fuel pump nozzles at Neste fueling stations. Wearing orangutan suits, activists claimed that the increased use of palm oil is resulting in cutting down of rain forests and destroying the living environment of endangered orangutans.
Written by Katie Fehrenbacher
It’s time to see how our favorite gadget makers and Internet search engines fare when it comes to their commitment to fighting climate change. While Greenpeace has its green electronics guide, the non-profit Climate Counts released a new scorecard on companies this week, which includes a list of electronics makers and Internet/software firms ranked according to the actions they’ve taken to reduce carbon emissions and combat global warming (hat tip to CNET). IBM and Google lead their peers, while Apple, eBay and Amazon lag far behind.
At the top of the electronics category are IBM, Canon and Toshiba. IBM recently told us that they have been working on environmental stewardship since 1971, so no surprise there. But way at the bottom are Apple, Nokia, and a little further up, Dell.

Apple has come under fire from environmentalists in the past, and the company has been trying to change its ways. But apparently when it comes to carbon emissions, not so much. Dell, on the other hand, was one of the first computer companies to commit to reducing its carbon footprint, so we’re not sure why it scored so low. Dell has also consistently had a pretty good track record for recycling, and recently started showing off its new eco PC, which is 81 percent smaller than a standard desktop and uses 70 percent less power.
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Written by Katie Fehrenbacher
Utilities plan to use solar power from both the massive solar plants that are being built in the California Mojave desert, as well as large scale distributed rooftop solar projects, like the one Southern California Edison is planning. So which technology is better? Centralized solar systems that use the sun’s heat to generate electricity, or hundreds of rooftops covered in solar panels strung together to generate power?
Roy Kuga, the vice president of the Energy Supply Division at California utility PG&E, had some interesting ideas about the pros and cons of each technology at the Berkeley, Stanford CleanTech Conference Series on Wednesday. Basically, while solar thermal plants provide lower solar prices, higher efficiencies and better energy storage, distributed solar rooftop programs are quick to deploy, and less costly when it comes to transmission lines and water needs. Check out the detailed list below:
Distributed Photovoltaic Solar Rooftop Projects:

Pros:
- These projects can get up and running fast. Around 8 months, Kuga says, noting that the solar industry is also trying to bring down this time dramatically.
- Distributed projects are not dependent on building long transmission lines to remote locations (such as the desert).
- Distributed projects are also not dependent on the high water needs that solar thermal plants require for cooling.
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