Green Tech

Financial analysts at Citigroup have joined the ranks of solar-company watchers that see falling prices and collateral damage in the next two years.

For consumers, the up-front price of getting solar-electric panels is still high--in the range of $20,000 to $35,000. A shortage of silicon cells is one reason that panels remain expensive.

But the overall demand for solar cells and panels is still very strong, driven by corporate customers and utilities. The solar industry has been ramping up production of silicon wafers in an effort to keep up.

In a report published on Thursday, Citi said it believes that the silicon shortage will become a silicon oversupply, which will start to push down prices next year and then accelerate further in 2010.

Analysts also see demand risks from potential changes in 2010 to rebate programs in Germany and Spain, two of the largest markets for solar.

For consumers, falling solar prices means that they'll be able to purchase more watts per dollar. That's not necessarily good news for manufacturers, though.

"We think headwinds will start to intensify, moving into the second half of 2008, as the current environment of benign pricing begins to rapidly reverse course in '09 and accelerate in '10, and decline faster than most can cut costs. In this environment, we think a shakeout will ensue," according to Citi's report.

Softening consumer demand ... Read more

The E-Fuel Micro-Fueler, on display in New York. Click for photo gallery.

(Credit: Caroline McCarthy/CNET News.com)

NEW YORK--"Henry Ford had it right all along," E-Fuel founder and CEO Thomas Quinn declared, referring to the fact that many original Model T Ford automobiles ran on the ethanol, not gasoline. But that was before the era of Prohibition, which banned production of the biofuel along with other forms of alcohol.

Now, he hopes ethanol can have a real revival.

In a press event at Revel, a Meatpacking District restaurant that features a greenhouse-like roof and trees growing inside, Quinn and his fellow executives unveiled the EFuel100 MicroFueler. It looks like a cross between a gas pump and an old-fashioned refrigerator, it'll cost $9,995, and it'll be available for customers in the fourth quarter of 2008 (if all goes well).

What is it, exactly? It's a home ethanol refinery. Connect it to a power source and a water source, add sugar "feedstock" and yeast or discarded alcohol (yes, that could mean last week's tequila) and in a week it can produce 35 gallons of ethanol that Quinn said any car can run on.

"I'm from Silicon Valley and I've worked with some very talented entrepreneurs in my lifetime," explained Quinn, whose previous start-up Gyration was responsible for a patent in Nintendo's "Wiimote" controller. "A couple years ago, I sensed this paradigm shift that we're all feeling today." He was referring to ... Read more

U.S. consumers have the least "green" habits in the world in terms of energy use, transportation, travel, and goods, according to National Geographic and polling firm GlobeScan.

Blame the American appetite for large, two-car, gadget-packed homes located far from work, along with a general disregard for conservation and eco-friendly products, the report says.

The Greendex results, released Wednesday, are based on online surveys taken earlier this year examining the shopping habits and attitudes of 14,000 consumers in 14 countries.

The Greendex map paints developing nations a darker shade of green.

(Credit: National Geographic)

Among Americans' un-green daily habits, 59 percent said they drive alone, and a trifling 5 percent use public transportation. Seventy-eight percent eat beef weekly, and only 5 percent attempt to reduce the use of fresh water. U.S. shoppers were also far more likely than others to own multiple new TVs, PCs, and energy-hogging household appliances.

Canadian and French consumers didn't appear much to be better than those in the United States.

People in developing nations, by contrast, were more likely to live in smaller homes, use less polluting modes of transportation, repair rather than discard broken goods, and seek "green" products.

They were more likely to express worry that climate change will negatively affect their lifestyles. Only 12 percent of Americans said ecological woes are affecting their health.

GlobeScan rated Brazilian, Indian, and Chinese consumers as the most "green."

Nearly one-third of Brazilians reported buying "green" products regularly and 41 percent said they ... Read more

Canadian researchers hope algae offers them "la grande solution" to greenhouse gas emissions and the environmental havoc caused by oil extraction in the Alberta tar sands.

The project is called CARS, Carbon Algae Recycling System, and it's backed by a consortium of researchers.

Canadians researchers believe they can grow microalgae to take CO2 out of the atmosphere, clean toxins, and make valuable products. Click on the image to see a video explanation.

(Credit: Alberta Research Council)

The idea is to grow algae next to a source of carbon dioxide, like a power plant. A number of algae start-ups plan to or are already doing exactly that to "feed" their algae the CO2 they need to grow.

Algae can be used for toxic cleanup as well, researchers tell clean-tech reporter Tyler Hamilton.

The plan is to grow the algae on toxic tailing ponds that have attracted much scrutiny in the oil sands. The algae doesn't just consume CO2, they also love some heavy metals, nitrogen, and residual hydrocarbons. If the approach could be made to work--including the required management of algae growth, handling, and harvesting--the algae could be used to produce biofuels and a number of other products as they suck up CO2 and clean up other chemicals.

"Industry is incredibly interested in this, because they can see it has a potential to take a cost burden out of the equation and turn it into a revenue-generating device, which is huge," says John McDougall, CEO of the Alberta Research

A sampling of green-tech news.

• The Ethanol Industrial Complex--Forbes.com

  A snapshot of Senate hearings this week on the impact that U.S. government mandates for ethanol are having on corn prices. This article points out that even if mandates were loosened, high oil prices would keep corn ethanol demand strong.

• The Clean Energy Scam--TIME

  Time magazine declares biofuels a scam, listing the many problems with biofuels including deforestation in Brazil.

• New Source for Biofuels Discovered--Renewable Energy World

  University of Texas researchers create a microbe that can produce ethanol and other biofuels. Can a licensing deal and venture-backed start-up be far behind?

• Building the Zero-Emissions City--Technology Review

  More coverage of Masdar Initiative in Abu Dhabi to build a sustainable city with recycled water and renewable energy.

• Petrify, liquefy: new ways to bury greenhouse gas--Environmental News Network via Reuters

  Here's a new one: Scientists will test whether they can get stone to absorb thousands of tons of CO2. It's an alternative to carbon sequestration in underground caverns, which could leak.

• Carbon Markets: Booming but Vulnerable, World Bank Says--Environmental Capital (WSJ.com)

  The WSJ gives the good news/bad news on carbon markets. Yes, the volume of carbon trading is going up, but as carbon-cutting projects face more scrutiny, the UN is getting overwhelmed. Also, there's no long-term plan post-Kyoto.

• Fear, but Few Facts, on Hybrid Risk--The New York Times

  Who saw this coming? An article covers concerns over electromagnetic waves from hybrid cars, but thus far, there'... Read more

Correction at 8:10 a.m. PDT: Nike's score has been fixed.

IBM, Google, and Microsoft apparently are model citizens when it comes to reducing their carbon footprint, while Apple has a long way to go.

(Credit: Climate Counts)

Climate Counts, a nonprofit funded by yogurt maker Stonyfield Farm, released on Wednesday its annual assessment of corporations' actions related to addressing climate change and whether they live up to their "green" marketing claims.

Climate Counts uses public information to rank companies in all industries.

The electronics and IT industry had the best industry ranking with a score of 56 on average out of a possible 100 points, led by a score of 77 from IBM, which edged out consistently high performer Canon.

The industry does well because most vendors have done a lifecycle analysis of their carbon emissions, examining energy and consumption of its supply chain partners, and the impact of waste from their products.

Apple, which has come under fire for the use of toxic materials, scored at the bottom of the electronics sector list with an 11.

According to its individual scorecard, Apple's ranking was hurt by incomplete reporting and because it hasn't set goals to reduce its own or its partners' greenhouse gases.

(Credit: Climate Counts)

In the area of Internet/software, Google has become the new standard-bearer. Google got the top spot because it has a program to measure its carbon emissions and because of its program through Google.org to invest in clean-energy ventures. ... Read more

It's not as flashy as solar panels or dramatic as wind turbines, but energy efficiency is fast becoming viewed as a significant "source" of energy. Some people refer to megawatts not used as "negawatts" (for negative watts).

EnerNoc is one of a handful of demand response companies in the field. To ease the load on the power grid during peak times, demand response systems can turn down electricity usage at commercial buildings or consumers' homes.

It's a field that's getting serious attention from policymakers who are looking to avoid constructing new power plants, or reduce the number they need to build.

EnerNoc CEO Tim Healy

(Credit: Martin LaMonica/CNET News.com)

How does it work? EnerNoc signs on corporate customers who agree to participate in energy efficiency programs. When the power grid is being pushed to its limits, it gets a signal from utilities. It then remotely cuts energy usage at a customer's site, using the Internet as the conduit.

It could be unobtrusive things like dimming the lights at a supermarket for 15 minutes in the middle of the day. But added up, it can make a big difference: EnerNoc now has 1,500 megawatts under management. That's the equivalent of 15 peak power plants, which are typically the dirtiest and most expensive to operate, said Tim Healy, EnerNoc's CEO.

Energy efficiency is also one of the more successful sectors within clean tech. EnerNoc and competitor Comverge have both gone public.

On Monday, ... Read more

MTI MicroFuel Cells is hoping to use its portable fuel cells in digital cameras.

The company, a subsidiary of Mechanical Technology, announced Wednesday that it is already working with a Japanese optics manufacturer to adapt its integrated Mobion fuel cell technology for digital cameras.

Peng Lim and a fuel cell. Methanol goes in. Water, CO2, and electrons come out.

(Credit: Hanna Sistek, CNET Networks)

Fuel cells are being explored as potential power sources for everything from data centers to SUVs. Over the years, MTI Micro has designed products for the industrial and military markets, but as of late, the company has been making a big push on the consumer electronics side, with the hope of replacing lithium ion batteries with miniature methanol-based fuel cells.

Last week, the company debuted a prototype of a fuel cell designed for handheld GPS devices. The deal announced Wednesday will further MTI Micro's push into the realm of digital cameras. (MTI already has a fuel cell that snaps onto the bottom of an SLR camera, which the company says can keep photographers shooting pictures for twice as long a regular lithium ion battery pack.)

"MTI Micro has now signed agreements with two global OEMs that operate within two of the three largest consumer electronic segments--mobile phones and digital cameras," MTI Chief Executive Officer Peng Lim said in a statement.

The duo hopes to have prototypes of the fuel cell-based digital cameras out later this month.

Several other companies--including Sony, Samsung, and Motorola--are working ... Read more

The U.S. Department of Energy awarded $126.6 million in grants on Tuesday to test carbon capture and storage in underground caverns.

Two sites in Ohio and California will try to verify that carbon dioxide gas can be pumped in geological formations and stored safely. The CO2 will be delivered from an ethanol plant in Ohio and a power plant in California.

Will you have carbon dioxide underfoot? A Berkeley Lab studies the locations of power plants, oil wells, and geological formations for storing carbon dioxide. Click on the image to go to the report.

(Credit: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)

The grants are subject to approval from Congress. When private money is included, the amount spent on the projects will be about $180 million over 10 years, the DOE said.

The Bush Administration and many other energy experts consider carbon capture and storage an important tool in reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere.

The DOE has identified enough underground "sinks" to store 1,000 years of storage capacity. Pumping CO2 can also aid in extraction more from oil and gas wells.

However, there are a number of unanswered questions regarding the process.

The latest DOE tests, part of a regional carbon sequestration research program, will put 1 million tons underground, monitor how effective underground caverns are at storing the gases, and assess how cost effectively it can be done.

The California test will be in the San Joaquin Basin in Central California, where CO2 will be compressed and ... Read more

The "slow food" movement came first, followed by "slow work" and even "slow medicine." Next, will people let the Internet relax a little for the sake of ecological sustainability?

Researchers are finding that data centers can make relatively simple power consumption tweaks that mimic those long available for personal computers, as New Scientist reports.

Energy-saving settings take several clicks to set up on Windows or Mac personal computers. But at data centers, where power consumption counts on a grander scale, equipment is often left on even when dormant.

Data centers' emissions of global warming gases exceed those of Argentina and the Netherlands combined, according to an April study by McKinsey & Co. and the Uptime Institute.

However, research from labs at Intel and the University of California at Berkeley has found that network hardware could consume up to 80 percent less energy if allowed to sleep, or if set up for data to travel in clusters rather than in an even flow. Changes to delay the flow of data by milliseconds, not enough for Web surfers to notice, reportedly cut energy use in half.

And in tests with Windows Live Messenger chatting software, Microsoft cut energy use by one-third by clustering active network connections rather than spreading them evenly across servers, noted New Scientist.