Gary Bloom

The press release states, “Siemens Industry, Inc.  announced today that it has signed an agreement to acquire all of the stock of eMeter Corporation, headquartered in San Mateo, California (“eMeter”). The parties expect to close the deal in December 2011, subject to necessary approvals and customary closing conditions. The parties will not disclose the terms of the agreement.

eMeter will be part of the Smart Grid Division of the Siemens Infrastructure & Cities Sector, which is housed within Siemens Industry, Inc. in the United States. eMeter will become a global business segment and center of competence for Meter Data Management (MDM), and will continue to operate from its San Mateo headquarters as part of the Smart Grid Division. eMeter employees will be integrated into the Siemens business structure. With the completion of this purchase, Siemens is making a strong commitment to strengthening its position in the Smart Grid market.

With its EnergyIP platform, eMeter is a leader in platform and MDM application software for this key market and is expected to enhance Siemens’ position. eMeter’s expertise will complement Siemens’ technology portfolio and integrated Smart Grid solutions offering.

“The acquisition of eMeter will allow Siemens to expand its reach globally in the Energy Information and Meter Data Management space,” said Jan Mrosik, CEO of the Smart Grid Division of the Siemens Infrastructure & Cities Sector. “Ever-increasing demand for solutions to improve the effectiveness of the Smart Grid for cities and utilities makes this acquisition even more important. eMeter is renowned for its superior software and services capabilities that enable electric, gas and water utilities to realize the full benefits of the Smart Grid. A combined portfolio of Siemens’ products and solutions and eMeter’s software represents a unique and complementary offering to our customers.”

“Siemens’ global reach and innovative products and services coupled with eMeter’s renowned EnergyIP platform, supports an aggressive growth strategy and further penetration into the Smart Grid market,” said Gary Bloom, CEO and president of eMeter. “I am confident Siemens will provide eMeter with the level of investment required in people, technology and operations to significantly strengthen our position in the market.”

J.P. Morgan served as financial advisor to eMeter in connection with this transaction.”

Read more: eMeter Press Release

“With rising energy demand and a national imperative to reduce carbon emissions, smart grid solutions like demand response can make a real difference,” said Paul Bircham, Electricity North West Customer Strategy and Regulation Director. “We see this programme as an opportunity to work more closely with our commercial and industrial customers while introducing them to the benefits of managing energy demand, and we are pleased to be working with EnerNOC in the process.”

EnerNOC works with every facility in its DemandSMART™ network to develop an energy curtailment plan that is customised to site-specific energy usage. When dispatched by a distribution network operator, like Electricity North West, EnerNOC manages its portfolio of participating sites in real-time to ensure curtailment plans are met. Demand response creates payments for programme participants while helping to relieve system constraints, lower the cost of energy for all ratepayers, and encourage more efficient energy usage across the grid.

“The United Kingdom is in the process of creating one of the world’s most advanced, low-carbon electricity grids. Electricity North West is participating actively in that transition by encouraging energy users to use electricity more strategically,” said David Brewster, President of EnerNOC. “The UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change has indicated that demand response will be an important part of energy market reforms, but Electricity North West is already ahead of the curve. We value its leadership in demand-side management and look forward to working together.””

Read more: EnerNOC Press Release

Under the terms of the agreement, Solazyme will leverage its algal fermentation technology in combination with Bunge’s oil processing and milling capabilities to cost-effectively produce targeted triglyceride oils. Development will take place at Bunge’s facility in Moema, Brazil, and at Solazyme’s laboratories in South San Francisco and Campinas, Brazil.

To further align the incentives of both parties, the two companies also entered into a Warrant Agreement. This agreement issues a warrant to Bunge for shares of Solazyme that vests upon the successful completion of key milestones, ultimately targeting the construction of a commercial facility with 100,000 metric tons of output oil coming online in 2013.”

Read more: Solazyme Press Release

Lineage Power had revenues of approximately $450 million in 2010. The transaction is valued at approximately $520 million or eight times enterprise value on 2011 EBITDA basis. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2011, subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of regulatory approval. Lineage Power is headquartered in Plano, Texas, and has nearly 2,300 employees, with manufacturing operations in China, Mexico and India.

The deal is the latest in a series of announcements that will expand GE’s $40 billion energy portfolio of solutions for customers in vital industries. In October 2010, GE announced the signing of a contract to acquire Dresser Inc., a Dallas-based energy infrastructure company. Last month, the company announced its intention to make an offer for 100 percent of Wellstream Holdings PLC, a British oil pipe manufacturer.

“According to recent studies, there will be 1.1 billion smartphones sold globally by 2013,” said Dan Heintzelman, GE Energy Services president & CEO. “Every new mobile device plugs into an infrastructure that requires an ever increasing amount of high-quality power. The growth in high-bandwidth mobile internet applications and cloud computing is accelerating that demand. A globally networked planet needs a lot of power to keep spinning. Customers want efficient, reliable means to manage that power.”

Heintzelman adds, “As the data-driven economy grows, the addition of Lineage Power’s business platform continues the expansion of GE Energy’s offerings from the electric grid to datacenters, cell towers, routers, servers and circuit board electronics.”

Lineage Power complements GE because it is based on technology leadership, deep customer relationships, proven domain expertise of its employees, a strong services business and a global growth strategy. It is right within GE’s core expertise—managing electricity. GE’s technology investments and resources, and global reach and scale, are expected to help grow this business around the world and across industries.”

Read more: Press Release

Chief Executive Helge Lund said his company, which has invested in offshore wind and carbon capture storage (CCS) technology in recent years, was committed to renewables but only up to a point.

“We are committed toward developing renewables but the industry has to show it is going to be profitable,” he told reporters. “Over time, it has to develop into a profitable industry.”

“This is the responsibility of any company,” he said. “Like any other activity, (renewables) have to be tested against profitability and other dimensions over time.”

Over the weekend Lund told the regional daily Stavanger Aftenblad that Statoil should consider within three to four years whether it was right to invest in renewables as well as in oil and gas.

The comments by Statoil come amid concerns that political action to tackle global climate change could drift for years in the wake of the financial crisis, hurting the prospects for coordinated renewable energy subsidies.

Norway’s largest company — two-thirds owned by the state — is a participating in several offshore wind projects, including the Sheringham Shoal wind farm off the coast of eastern England.

It is also aiming to build a full-scale CCS facility at the Mongstad oil refinery in western Norway — a project that has seen several setbacks.

Lund said Statoil remained committed toward developing CCS at Mongstad.

“We stay committed to Mongstad project, however difficult,” he said.”

Source: Reuters

Ventyx is a leading software provider to global energy, utility, communications, and other asset-intensive businesses, offering a broad range of solutions including: asset management, mobile workforce management, energy trading and risk management, energy operations and energy analytics. The company also provides software solutions for planning and forecasting electricity needs, including renewables.

ABB will combine its related network management business within the Power Systems division, with Ventyx to form a single unit for energy management software solutions. By providing ABB with broader access to the utility enterprise management market, the acquisition triples the energy management software market available to ABB.

“The big advantage for energy companies, utilities and industrial customers is that they will now have a single supplier of enterprise-wide information technology platforms and power automation systems,” said Joe Hogan, ABB’s CEO. “The advantage for our shareholders is a cash-generating acquisition in an exciting growth market, with a strong management team, a highly complementary offering and geographic scope, and an attractive return on capital employed.”

Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Ventyx has a large installed base in the US market and Europe and operates in more than 40 countries. Its customers include leading power utilities in the United States and Europe as well as industrial businesses. The company employs 900 people and reported 2009 revenues of about $250 million.

The acquisition is in line with ABB’s strategy to pursue growth opportunities that complement the company’s product, technology and geographical portfolio. It is subject to customary regulatory approvals, and ABB expects the transaction to be completed in the second quarter. ABB intends to pay for the acquisition in cash.

“Combining Ventyx’s leading software suite with ABB’s systems and unparalleled domain knowledge of the power industry will create a business that is ideally placed to offer solutions that will help to meet the challenges of rapidly evolving energy networks,” said Vince Burkett, Ventyx CEO.

One of Ventyx’s key software applications gives utilities and grid operators the information they need to better match electricity generation with consumption, even at the household level. By generating real-time information on electricity demand, pricing and availability, Ventyx’s software enables a practical business model for utilities to generate revenues from smart grids and carbon trading.

Ventyx’s load forecasting software can also help to integrate large amounts of unpredictable renewable energies, such as wind and solar power. The company provides other asset management applications to fully integrate a utility’s business and enterprise systems across the entire value chain, and a comprehensive service suite to facilitate efficient resolution of network failures.”

Source: ABB Press Release

The California Institute of Technology (Caltech) has recently developed solar cells made of 98% plastic, effectively using 1/50th of the normal semiconductor material required. More importantly though these solar cells have demonstrated over 90% efficiency, almost four times greater than traditional silicon-based solar cells.

The researchers at Caltech have discovered that by growing silicon wires in a polymer substrate the cells will maintain better flexibility while adding to its efficiency. Normally light is captured by regular solar cells and converted into electricity with a bulk of light bouncing away and essentially being lost. The added flexibility of these plastic cells will trap the light causing the light to bounce around inside a matrix until it is absorbed. As a result, more light will be absorbed and at a higher concentration.

Atwater explains, “The light comes in and is both directly absorbed by the wires, and some of the light bounces around in between the wires. And that bouncing around or multiple scattering in between the wires results in dramatically enhanced absorption. In fact, the absorption enhancement that we see is in” the range of 20 to 50 times the single-pass absorbance.”

Additionally, the flexibility of these plastic solar sheets presents a unique opportunity to curve and shape them along surfaces that are not traditionally flat. For instance, Atwater suggested the roof of a car could be a potentially useful application that would take advantage of this new material. They could also be integrated into roofing materials to save money on installation and ultimately making it even cheaper to go green.

These recent developments will have a profound impact in the solar sector and the renewable energy market as well. Solar technology has always been a viable source of energy for the future and this research only strengthens its case. Currently, the head of the research, Harry Atwater, is working on increasing the voltage and size of the solar cells so that they can be produced inexpensively as flexible sheets.

According to Bloom Energy’s press release, “company committed to changing the way people generate and consume energy, announced today the availability of the Bloom Energy Server™, a patented solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology that provides a cleaner, more reliable, and more affordable alternative to both today’s electric grid as well as traditional renewable energy sources. The Bloom Energy Server provides distributed power generation, allowing customers to efficiently create their own electricity onsite. The company introduced its groundbreaking technology at an event hosted today at eBay Inc.headquarters along with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, General Colin Powell, and several of its early customers.

Built using abundant and affordable materials, Bloom’s fuel cell technology is fundamentally different from the legacy “hydrogen” fuel cells most people are familiar with. The Bloom Energy Server is distinct in four primary ways: it uses lower cost materials, provides unmatched efficiency in converting fuel to electricity, has the ability to run on a wide range of renewable or traditional fuels, and is more easily deployed and maintained.

Unlike traditional renewable energy technologies, like solar and wind, which are intermittent, Bloom’s technology can provide renewable power 24/7. Each Bloom Energy Server provides 100 kilowatts (kW) of power in roughly the footprint of a parking space. Each system generates enough power to meet the needs of approximately 100 average U.S. homes or a small office building. For more power, customers simply deploy multiple Energy Servers side by side. The modular architecture allows customers to start small and “pay as they grow”.

Bloom’s customers have deployed the solution to lower and/or fix their energy costs, while significantly cutting their carbon footprint and enhancing their energy security by reducing their dependence on the grid. Customers who purchase Bloom’s systems can expect a 3-5 year payback on their capital investment from the energy cost savings. Depending on whether they are using a fossil or renewable fuel, they can also achieve a 40-100% reduction in their carbon footprint as compared with the U.S. grid. Customers announced today include Bank of America (NYSE: BAC); The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO); Cox Enterprises; eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY); FedEx Express, an operating company of FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX); Google (Nasdaq: GOOG); Staples (Nasdaq: SPLS); and Walmart (NYSE: WMT).

Since the first commercial customer installation in July 2008, Bloom’s Energy Servers have collectively produced more than 11 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity, with CO2 reductions estimated at 14 million pounds – the equivalent of powering approximately 1,000 American homes for a year and planting one million trees.”

Source: Press Release

Corky (Battery-less, cordless mouse developed by Adele Peters)

Corky

Say hello to Corky, the brown little mouse, a creative approach to cutting back on battery waste. Made of 100% recycled components, this revolutionary mouse is powered by the motion of your hand. The energy used as your hand guides the mouse across a surface is captured by elements within the mouse simultaneously powering and charging it. Additionally, the wheel and buttons on the mouse both produce and store energy effectively leaving no movement wasted.

Go Mechanical Charger (Portable phone charger developed by Elephant Design)

With the mobile phone market growing ever larger and having significant impact on developing nations around the world, this device will prove to be absolutely invaluable. Much like hand-powered flashlights this portable phone charger features a hand crank and a bonus a roll-on wheel feature. Essentially, the power from the Go Mechanical Charger will be grid-free and user-generated. Additionally, the charging port will support universal adaptability allowing use across all cell phone carriers. Although the charger can certainly be used for high-powered executives on-the-go its target consumers are those without immediate access to outlets on a regular basis. As such the engineers at Elephant Design have made the prototype an affordable $8 and an additional $1.50 for adapters.

Smart Grid Home Controller (Home energy monitor developed by BuLogics Inc.)

Smart Grid Controller

A good portion of our energy consumption in the home goes largely unnoticed, but certainly not unaccounted for which is where the world’s first Smart Grid Home Area Network (HAN) controller comes in. Uniquely designed to bridge the communication gap between utility companies and their customers the Z-Wave HAN will allow users to reduce energy consumption and save money with no effort on their part. The interaction happens in three stages starting with the utility company sending an energy change request regarding energy usage during peak hours and subsequent price increases. The information is received by Z-Wave’s HAN automatically shutting off appliances based on user preferences. The HAN then relays the changes made to the user’s cell phone or email detailing the event and effect on their energy efficiency. The result? It allows consumers to save money and conserve energy to help erase our carbon footprint.

Turbine Light (Car-powered highway lighting developed by TAK Studio)

Turbine Light

The growing number of cars on the road has led to an ever-increasing demand for electricity to light up highways. TAK Studio’s ingenuity has led to highway lighting powered by the wind from passing cars on the freeway. The concept is fairly simple: as cars zoom down highways they create wind which is then harnessed by the turbines in these lights and generates electricity used to power the lights itself. Ultimately, the Turbine Light will create a wonderfully symbiotic relationship between the two by effectively allowing each to give and take energy from one another.

The consistent theme throughout all these products is empowerment of the consumer. If we truly hold ourselves accountable for the environmental mess we are in then these products will provide a great way to take responsibility. Government policies and regulations are only part of the equation, the green revolution must start from the bottom and permeate through every level of our society in order to truly change our destructive ways.

PHEVs, according to CalCars, combine the strengths of both types, the long distance capability of gas and the cost-efficiency of a green, electric motor. By charging the vehicle overnight in the garage most daily commute is sufficiently covered by the battery which translates to about $0.75/gallon of gasoline. By comparison, regular hybrids today achieve 45 mpg at about $1.20/gallon.

Besides the daily costs of owning a PHEV many consumers are still weary of the hefty price tag on PHEVs versus an old-school automobile. While most PHEVs admittedly cost thousands more than even the hybrids on the market today, the cost to own a car is an entirely different matter. By essentially cutting the cost of fuel for a PHEV by 2/3 the money saved will reach well into the thousands.

If an average car owner drives 12,000 miles a year and gets roughly 25mpg and spends about $3/gallon for gas, then $1440 is spent on gas alone per year. If we use the high estimate of the cost for electricity to power the car, the savings will be roughly $1000/year. After five years, an PHEV would effectively negate the added cost. For simplicity sake the cost for battery replacement should at least be offset by lower maintenance since PHEVs have significantly less moving parts. Although it should be noted that battery technology is a rapidly growing industry which would lower its costs immensely in the coming years.

Finances aside, the environmental implications are obviously far-reaching which CalCars stresses the most. In a extensive study by the Electric Power Research Institute and the Natural Resources Defense Council (EPRI-NRDC) conducted in July 2007, the organization confirms that PHEVs will be cleaner as they get older because the grid it utilizes is itself becoming cleaner.

The EPRI-NRDC also emphasizes that this shift away from our dependency on oil can happen right now since we have the technology to build it and the infrastructure to support it. Although the future will undoubtedly bring greener, more affordable technology PHEVs are going largely unnoticed despite their potential impact on the environment. By investing in PHEVs today we would be investing in the future of our planet because we should be giving back to that which has already given us so much.