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1. Martin Tobias: The Fate of Next-Gen Biofuel Startups
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2. The Daily Sprout
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3. Climate Change = More Heat Waves = More Blackouts
Martin Tobias: The Fate of Next-Gen Biofuel Startups
Katie Fehrenbacher - Startups
The ten next-generation biofuel startups that got funded last quarter were one of the reasons that cleantech venture investments hit a recent record. But how well are all these biofuel startups going to do in the market despite their recent funding? We’re not sure, but Martin Tobias, angel investor and former CEO of Imperium Renewables, decided to give his take on how the younger crop will fare on his blog. While he agrees that some have promising technologies in the labs, he says getting the economics to work on the necessary large scale is an entirely different story.
Tobias’ favorite company is Sapphire Energy, a year-old startup that is looking to squeeze high-octane gasoline from algae and which raised $50 million from ARCH Venture Partners, the Wellcome Trust and Venrock. He likes the idea of skipping the big oil-controlled channel and going directly to the independent oil refiners, but wants to see more details on how the economics will work.
He also has a few nice things to say about GreenFuel, the algae fuel company that uses recycled carbon dioxide. He says he likes the strategy of placing algae farms near heavy carbon emitters for multiple revenue streams. Tobias has already invested in algae fuel startup Inventure Chemical, so he’s been following this area closely.
And that’s about the nicest things Tobias had to say about some of these companies. On Range Fuels he thinks the technology will be a lot more expensive than first generation biofuels, and contends:
“While Khosla likes to pay lip service to investing in technologies that are economic w/o government incentives, cellulosic ethanol generally through the 2.5x RFS credits, and Range Fuels specifically through large DOE grants have been showered with government money. If the plant eventually does get up and running”
For the rest of them, it’s equally as bad. Mostly Tobias is skeptical of getting the lab processes to scale large enough and cheap enough to produce enough return on investment. When it comes to Altrabiofuels spin-off EdenIQ, and Khosla and GM-backed Mascoma, he says repeatedly “show me” the money.
For algae fuel company AuroraBiofuels Tobias says that the company “lays out too much wood to chop in my opinion and not enough focus.” And for both Fulcrum Bioenergy and Amyris Biotechnologies Tobias thinks some of their commercial milestones are so difficult to reach in time that he ‘ll give anyone $100 if the company hits that mark.
Before Tobias digs into company specifics he highlights the biggest problems he sees for the biofuel industry as a whole: oversupply, waning political support, lagging distribution infrastructure, and cold debt markets. We’ll see if a year later, cleantech investments are still up, despite the fact that there will be some misses for next-gen biofuels.
The Daily Sprout
Craig Rubens - Misc
Stirling On Track for 30,000-dish, 750MW Solar Thermal Plant: Although they were one of the first solar thermal companies to sign a big contract, Stirling Energy Systems is a little behind. But now the company has the paperwork for its first solar power plant - Green Wombat.
“The Energy Gap and the Climate Challenge”: “Can the human species be sophisticated enough to keep in mind a looming challenge (decarbonizing the energy system, which will happen eventually anyway) even as it deals with a real-time problem (avoiding energy-related economic turmoil)?” Quite a mouthful - NYTimes Blog Dot Earth.
Sungevity’s Got Games With Solar Coupons: Residential solar installer Sungevity, which uses satellite imaging to size a solar system for your roof, has launched an online game site that tests your solar skills and rewards you with a $100 discount on your solar system. Cheesy but fun - Sungevity.
MIT Opens New ‘Window’ on Solar Energy”: Researchers at MIT have created a solar concentrating window that focuses light toward the edges lined with photovoltaic cells. They say they’re cheap and effective and could be in buildings in three years - MIT Press Release.
Climate Change = More Heat Waves = More Blackouts
Craig Rubens - Energy
Coming soon to a city near you — more power outages! As temperatures soar across the nation, a report published today in the Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology details research from scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, which estimates that electricity demand could outstrip supply by as much as 17 percent on the hottest days in the coming decades. Co-author Norman Miller said in a statement: “Climate warming across the western U.S. could further strain the electricity grid, making brownouts or even rolling blackouts more frequent.” Cue ominous music.
What’s most discouraging about the report is that it doesn’t offer any solutions other than the stock “energy conservation and emissions reductions.” Yawn. Of course those would alleviate many of the problems of global warming, but this report addresses the specific problem of peak power demand. And there are several clean technologies that specifically address peak demand as well.
One of the biggest advantage of solar energy is that it’s a peak power producer. The day is hottest when the sun is beating down hard. Peak solar energy production, either from rooftop photovoltaics or desert-located solar thermal plants, could overlap with peak demand. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is currently pushing rooftop solar which could obviate new, natural gas power plants.
Demand response, a grid management service offered by the likes of EnerNOC, coordinates large energy users and can alleviate peak demand by getting clients to click systems off when demand is high. The clients enjoy discounts on their energy for participating, while the utility gains extra capacity in the form of “negawatts,” and EnerNOC takes a nice cut.
Air conditioning is by far the biggest offender in these heat wave-induced energy spikes. Greener ventilation design can drastically reduce the need to cool a building. Of the presidential hopefuls, Barack Obama has made a building efficiency a part of his energy planby proposing that all new government buildings must be carbon neutral by 2030. He also wants to improve the energy efficiency of existing government buildings by 25 percent.
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