March 2009

Update: Wattbot Wins Green:Net Launch Pad

Congrats to our friends at Wattbot, recently profiled by Renewablog, for being selected as the top Green:Net Launch Pad company.

From Earth2Tech blogger Josie Garthwaite:

"Wattbot: Free web-based service that shows people how to determine how much energy they use. Consumers input information about their home and lifestyles to get recommendations for the best products and services that will save energy and money. Providers of the products and services buy the leads generated by consumers seeing the recommendations on the site.  Score: 20"

Posted by Whitney Phaneuf on March 26, 2009 at 2:40 PM
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Solar M&A: How Long Will it Last?

A lot has been made about Solar M&A the past few weeks as solar companies get snapped up or acquire each other's business pipeline. ActSolar was just acquired by National Semiconductor, while Optisolar, Recurrent Energy and a number of others have been involved in acquisitions of business pipeline and assets recently. At issue for most is the ability to get funding and for others it is the ability of their customers to get loans or bonds to finance a solar installation.

How long will this last? The answer lies in Washington where Public Affairs teams for solar companies are working to tap stimulus money and where the financial market bailout will likely begin to free up the ability of solar consumers (business, consumers, government) to get loans and finance projects. For solar manufacturers, it depends on the ability of solar companies to get grants and loan guarantees, a la Solyndra, BrightSource and others, to finish projects and expand operations.

In the residential market, home values (many people use home equity for downpayments on power purchase agreements or to pay for systems) play a big role, as do tax breaks and the long-term adoption of feed-in tariffs. Gainesville was recently the first municipality in the US to adopt a solar feed-in tariff and the interest was unprecedented. Feed-in tariffs were one of the major drivers of  residential and commercial solar adoption in Germany, making it the number one solar market in the world.

My guess? The combination of all of the aforementioned government policy measures, combined with the return of credit markets and a slightly improving economy will help stabilize many solar companies for the rest of the year, allowing them to survive the current turmoil. I strongly believe that the combination of solar-friendly public policy, legislation, government incentives and the recovery of energy prices and the broader economy will return the market to a boom phase in 2010.

Posted by Jason Morris on March 24, 2009 at 8:31 PM
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Following the Money at GoingGreen East 2009

GoingGreen East 2009 was full of great chatter about energy efficiency, batteries, storage, VCs and the government's deep pockets. Check out a quick podcast discussing what we saw here.

Posted by Mike Farber on March 23, 2009 at 4:34 PM
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First Impressions from GoingGreen East

AlwaysOn GoingGreen East is underway here at the Four Seasons Boston. Some first impressions:

• Packed show. Despite the economy plenty of VCs, entrepreneurs, bankers, lawyers, cleantech pr types etc have deemed GoingGreen worth attendeding.
• Stellar panels. All top the VCs and east coast cleantech cos are here.
• Tone is realistic, not pessimistic. Cleantech cos will take off, it just may take a bit longer b/c of the recession.
• Particular enthusiam for efficiency, smart grid, battery storage.

Best way to stay on top of things is to follow our tweets, @mfarbs.

Posted by Mike Farber on March 10, 2009 at 12:03 PM
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Renewablog Live from GoingGreen East

GoingGreen East starts tonight at the Four Seasons in Boston. Renewablog is on the job, posting, podcasting and tweeting (@mfarbs).

As Scott Kirsner says, everyone from top VCs to Secretary of Energy/Environment Ian Bowles to the CEOs of 1366 Technologies, Ze-Gen, Mascoma, Oasys Water, and GreatPoint Energy will be in attendance. Check out both Renewablog and the live show feed on the GoingGreen site for real-time updates.

Posted by Mike Farber on March 9, 2009 at 2:23 PM
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Stimulus Package Debate Begins: Accountability or Speed?

As the government begins to allocate billions in stimulus funds for shovel-ready projects in renewable energy, smart grid and energy management  (along with Department of Energy investments in cleantech R&D), a debate is raging about accountability versus speed. The Obama administration is demanding accountability and transparency in terms of how the funds are distributed, while agencies are going to struggle with quickly doling out the funds they will direct as part of the bill.

Regardless of how the government balances speed and accountability, there are three undeniable points about the stimulus:

-The amount going into green and cleantech is enormous

-The quicker those funds are invested, the better it will be for job creation

-The money needs to be invested transparently and not just go to the same government contractors and companies that have milked Uncle Sam for the past three decades

So how quickly can the funds get invested in a responsible manor? The NY Times had an example last week where $25 billion for electric cars had yet to be invested by the DOE. With GM on the doorstep of bankruptcy protection, you may hear new calls from Silicon Valley for those funds to be invested in ground-up electric car and battery manufacturers like Tesla Motors and A123.

CNET also has a story today discussing how many start-ups will need to figure out Public Affairs pretty quickly or else they may not get the funding they need to survive. The Federal Government, with the stimulus package, has become the largest cleantech investor and project financier. This creates a trremendous Public Affairs oppprtunity for companies in wind, solar, biofuels, smart grid and energy management, and grant proposal writing is not enough. 

Bottom line: Cleantech start-ups need to quickly learn how to tap into stimulus funds to grow their companies and win government projects.

Posted by Jason Morris on March 5, 2009 at 1:16 PM
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