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1. Cleantech Venture Investment in '08 Breaks Record, Despite Weak Finish
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2. Smart Grid Could Create 280,000 Smart Jobs
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3. Coulomb's Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Are Live in San Jose
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4. Cali Gov. Meg Whitman?: Silicon Valley 1, Clean Energy 0
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5. Lotus Goes Electric?
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6. Used Home Furnishings and Decor - How To Choose Green Used Home Goods
Cleantech Venture Investment in '08 Breaks Record, Despite Weak...
Katie Fehrenbacher - Big Green
Despite a significant drop cleantech startups investments in the fourth quarter, 2008 still delivered a record level of investment for the cleantech industry, according to two reports out recently. According to the Cleantech Group’s preliminary results for the fourth quarter of 2008, $1.7 billion was put into 99 investments, the smallest quarterly total in the last 6 quarters. But in 2008 overall, $8.4 billion of venture investment went into cleantech companies, up 38 percent from the annual amount in 2007.
Analysts at Greentech Media delivered similar numbers. They found that the fourth quarter of 2008 saw more than $2.5 billion of venture investment put into cleantech firms, a drop from the previous quarter of $2.9 billion. But for the year overall, Greentech Media found that 2008 delivered “a record fundraising” year, with $7.7 billion in investment for cleantech firms.
| 2001 | $506,780,774 |
|---|---|
| 2002 | $883,269,409 |
| 2003 | $1,258,565,762 |
| 2004 | $1,398,256,823 |
| 2005 | $2,077,524,074 |
| 2006 | $4,520,208,949 |
| 2007 | $6,087,179,844 |
| 2008 | $8,414,259,610 |
Source: Cleantech Group
Looking over the numbers, there are some telling trends from 2008: Both groups found that solar was by far the dominating area of cleantech investment for much of 2008, and in particular thin-film solar firms, which took the three largest rounds. The Cleantech Group says solar took a 40 percent share, or $3.3 billion, of clean technology venture investment dollars. And in 2008 the three largest investments were for NanoSolar ($300 million round), Solyndra ($219 million round) and SoloPower ($200 million round). All those companies make CIGS-based thin film solar — that’s an investment bubble if I ever saw one.
The second hottest cleantech sector for 2008 investment was biofuels, which received 11 percent of total funding, or $904 million, according to the Cleantech Group. Greentech Media says there were 18 biofuel deals in the fourth quarter, which combined delivered $358.55 million to biofuel startups. Our guess is that those biofuel numbers will be way down in 2009, given the difficult time companies are having raising large amounts of capital to build and expand biofuel plants, as well as the turning public and political good will for biofuels in general.
Following solar and biofuels, the Cleantech Group says transportation had the third most investment in 2008 with 9.5 percent of the total and $795 million; wind followed that with 6 percent of the total, or $502 million; smart grid delivered 4.1 percent or $345 million. We’re thinking, with federal policy support, both the smart grid and transportation investments will jump in 2009.
Wondering about the ever-present but hard-to-predict Chinese cleantech industry? Investments in China actually grew by a healthy 22 percent over 2007 levels, and accounted for 5 percent of the global total in 2008, according to the Cleantech Group. India accounted for 3 percent of the global total, which was actually down 20 percent from 2007. Europe and Israel accounted for 21 percent of the global total.
And per usual, our favorite list: The Top 5 venture investors for 2008:
| 21 | Khosla Ventures |
|---|---|
| 18 | Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers |
| 16 | Quercus Trust |
| 13 | RockPort Capital Partners |
| 13 | Draper Fisher Jurvetson |
Source: Cleantech Group (cleantech.com)
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Smart Grid Could Create 280,000 Smart Jobs
David Ehrlich - Big Green
A new energy-efficient infrastructure could be coming to the U.S. with the new administration, and up to 280,000 new jobs could be created from the deployment of smart grid technology alone. That’s according to a report released today by the GridWise Alliance, a smart grid industry group.
And the job creation isn’t likely to stop there. The report said federal investment in a smart grid could lead to an unspecified, but substantially larger, number of indirect jobs as well, with the technology enabling other types of cleantech, including plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles, distributed renewable energy and smart appliances.
Smart grids use a number of technologies networked together to give utilities new capabilities, such as automated meter reading, data collection, voltage monitoring and notification of outages, as well as remote control of customer loads for demand-response systems.
Prepared by Dutch energy consultant KEMA, a member of GridWise, the report said more than 150,000 jobs could come as soon as this year, with the remaining 140,000 jobs coming in by 2012. Not all of the jobs for the smart grid are permanent, though, with a large number associated only with the deployment and installation phase. The alliance said that 140,000 jobs are expected to continue through 2018.
GridWise said that President-elect Barack Obama has promoted a plan for smart grid incentives that would compensate qualifying projects for up to 25 percent of the initial investment cost. If the U.S. government were to put up $16 billion in smart grid incentives over the next four years, it could drive $64 billion in smart grid projects, according to the report.
A similar study from IBM(s IBM) shows some similar, but more accelerated, results for smart grid investments. IBM’s study, conducted by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a Washington, D.C., think tank, found that if the government invested $10 billion in smart grids in 2009 it would create 239,000 jobs by the end of the year.
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Coulomb's Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Are Live in San Jose
Katie Fehrenbacher - Automotive
OK, so three live stations doesn’t exactly set up San Jose as a major electric vehicle hub, but Coulomb says it will be adding more stations in the coming weeks. And let’s face it, there just aren’t that many plug-in vehicles on the roads yet, either in California or the U.S. Felix Kramer, founder of CalCars.org, estimates there are around 250 plug-in hybrid electric vehicles in the US.
What’s interesting, though, is how Coulomb intends to sell — and market — vehicle charging power to those early adopters that do have plug-in cars. Like another electric vehicle infrastructure company Better Place, Coulomb plans to offer subscription plans. That includes a limited-time "Basic Access" subscription offer, which the company says includes free charging through 2009.
Fifty dollars per month ($600 per year) might sound like a lot for anytime unlimited access, but think how much you pay in gas per month and per year. But realistically, at this point, the only people who are going to sign up for a service with such limited access are EV owners that just want test out the novel technology.
Coulomb Technologies has also set its sights on Europe. Founder and CEO Richard Lowenthal told us recently that the company will enter the European market in 2009 — check out these images of the company's EU prototypes.
Better Place, which will be coordinating both electric vehicle distribution and charging infrastructure, plans to build a $1 billion charging and battery-swapping network in the Bay Area and eventually build the network out to the rest of California. We’re not sure if the companies’ charging stations will be compatible, but Coulomb says it is using the industry standard for its charging stations.
Better Place’s network still needs to be approved by the city of San Francisco, but the company said at a news event in November that it would start planning and permitting this month, with installation starting in 2010, and more widespread charging station access by 2012.
Images courtesy of Coulomb.
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Cali Gov. Meg Whitman?: Silicon Valley 1, Clean Energy 0
Josie Garthwaite - Policy
Former eBay chief Meg Whitman stepped down from her seats on three corporate boards yesterday, clearing the way for a possible run in the 2010 race for California governor, the Wall Street Journal reports. For any candidate, it would be tough to match governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s decidedly bullish stance on clean energy. But whoever takes up the guvernatorship (Schwarzenegger’s second term ends in January 2011) will inherit one of the most influential pulpits for establishing state-level energy policy — for better or worse.
California has long led national trends toward tighter pollution controls, beginning in the 1970s, when it was allowed to establish its own tailpipe emissions standards under the Clean Air Act (other states can adopt the California or federal standard). More recently, California officials have created a comprehensive plan for reducing greenhouse gas emissions — the nation’s first.
Schwarzenegger, for his part, has pushed for companies like Tesla Motors to set up manufacturing in California — part of an ongoing effort to lock in the state’s role as a hub of a global green economy. In November, he signed an executive order calling for an increase in the state's Renewable Energy Standard to 33 percent renewable power by 2020; up from 20 percent in 2010.
When he entered office, Schwarzenegger, like Whitman, had a thin political track record. But what Whitman has said about energy policy suggests a less aggressive approach to energy efficiency and renewables. Stumping for Senator John McCain during the presidential campaign, she supported the Republican candidate’s “all-of-the-above strategy” — including offshore oil drilling and nuclear — for reducing U.S. reliance on energy imports. Even so, having Whitman in Sacramento would not be all bad for Silicon Valley’s solar, electric vehicle, energy storage, and biofuel startups. With more and more of her colleagues from the dotcom days ditching infotech for cleantech, Whitman could end up bringing energy innovators onto her team.
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Lotus Goes Electric?
khallgeisler - Bikes & Cars
After hiring out its design arm to create chassis for Tesla and Chrysler’s electric vehicles, Lotus has hinted that it may throw its own hat in the EV ring. The Financial Times reported — and Edmunds.com’s Inside Line passed it along — that Lotus CEO Michael Kimberley said there may be an electric Lotus “shortly.”
According to the Edmunds blog post, “shortly” may be as soon as the Geneva auto show in March. The concept EV wouldn’t be fully functional, but it would give potential buyers an idea of what a 300-mile-range EV from the British sports car manufacturer might look like.
Looking at Lotus’s current lineup, I think we can assume it’ll be along similar curvy lines. And the company already has a tradition of model names that start with E (Elise, Elite, Evora, Europa … ), so coming up with a clever EV name should be a snap.
Image provided by Lotus Designs, from its 2009 calendar. As far as Good Green Cars knows, it’s not the EV Lotus is talking about, but, you know, it could be.
Used Home Furnishings and Decor - How To Choose Green Used Home Goods
jchait - Home & Garden
Buying used, from a thrift store, antique shop, or flea market is one great way to keep it green. You’re giving old products a new life, avoiding production of new products, and getting some cool unique finds to boot. That said, you do need to be smart about which used products you choose for your home. Buying the wrong used item isn’t green, it’s a waste of time and money.
Used products to avoid:
Avoid impulse buys: Like any purchase, you need to ask some fundamental green purchasing questions before you buy. Make sure you’re getting something you’ll actually use.
Avoid broken stuff: Some broken items are ok. If you’re sure you can fix it (really sure) go ahead and buy. If something is going to take massive repairs to get it halfway presentable or working, don’t bother.
Avoid multiple projects: A project is not so broken you can’t fix it, say a shelf that needs refinished, but having too many projects on hand pretty much ensures that none of them will get done. One project at a time is smart.
Avoid non-green kitchen supplies and dishes: If it’s not energy efficient or a smart green tableware choice avoid it.
Avoid safety hazards: Old furnishings may have lead based paints - fine if you’ll refinish it, but not ok as is. Same for thrift toys and especially baby furniture. Make sure everything works and won’t harm anyone.
Avoid large textiles: In most cases used textiles aren’t a great green deal. Most won’t be made of eco-friendly materials, most are super hard to properly clean, and with something like an old pillow, it’s almost impossible to sanitize.
Later we’ll look at some good used home product decisions.
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