Year in Review: Clean tech

Who wasn't interested in clean technology in 2006?

Scientific studies further strengthened the link between global warming and greenhouse gases. Rising gasoline prices over the summer caused a panic, along with a hike in profits for oil companies and oil-producing nations.

Meanwhile, companies specializing in solar power, ethanol, electric cars and other technologies raked in record amounts of venture capital.

The catch? With the exception of a few examples, like solar cell manufacturer SunPower, a lot of new entrants into the energy field are still in the start-up phase, so it's hard to determine whether they will succeed or stall out. Multinationals are also putting on the pressure.

A company called Nanosolar made huge headlines when it landed $100 million in venture funds to build solar plants. However, it's not yet offering a product, and it will have to face giants like Shell Solar when it does.

Similarly, Tesla Motors unveiled a sports car that runs entirely on electricity. That made the company, with $40 million in funding, one of the richest electric car companies out there. That is, until Nissan announced it planned on coming out with an electric car in the near future.

A prediction: 2007 will likely become a year when many of these new ideas will begin to get tested in the marketplace.

The clean energy field can roughly be broken down into three areas: transportation (new fuels; energy efficient cars and boats); electricity generation (solar power, wind power); and efficiency (low-energy appliances, networked thermostats and recycling).

Of the three, efficiency likely holds the most promise for more immediate results. In the 1970s, California put a huge dent in the growth of electricity demand with energy-efficient household appliances. Now many believe that replacing conventional light bulbs with fiber-optic lights, improving how electric motors operate and moving to more energy-efficient PCs and servers could produce similar results.

Solar power also continued to make significant strides. Solar companies and installers reported that demand remains strong for the products--so strong, in fact, that the solar-panel shortage continues. Look for more factory capacity to come online in the next few years.

Alternative energy cars probably remain the most difficult to take to the mainstream, but here, too, the progress was quite substantial in 2006. The major car manufacturers have all seen what the Prius has done for Toyota, and all, to some degree, have announced hybrid cars, ethanol vehicles, clean diesel programs and/or electric cars.

A related clean tech field that got a lot of attention in 2006 was water. The world is facing a looming water shortage that, if not ameliorated, could lead to massive health and economic problems, various scientists have said. In turn, this has lead to exploration into things like biological pesticides that cut dependence on chemical fertilizers (made out of petroleum products) and plants that can grow food with less effort.

--Michael Kanellos

2006 Highlights

Old solar tech back in limelight

Start-ups focus on an old technique of concentrating sunlight to make more cost-efficient photovoltaic panels.
Photos: Solar 'concentrators' focus on efficiency

Superweeds, air caves and the future of energy

Lawrence Berkeley labs chief says global warming may not be a 100 percent given, but the potential consequences mean we have to act regardless.

Driving coast to coast on deep fat fryers

Smell french fries? It could be the Big Green Bus. Dartmouth group drives renovated bus running on veggie fuel.
Photos: Revving up on fast food

Ice-powered air conditioner could cut costs

Ice Energy says energy-storage system cuts down on the power required for air conditioning by 30 percent.

Water wizards of the desert

One of Israel's most promising industries centers on the preservation of a crucial natural resource: water.
Photos: Israel's treatment of water

MIT designs 'invisible,' floating wind turbines

Professor schooled in oil exploration structures has designed a platform to hold turbines dozens of miles offshore.

Silicon Valley's Mr. Green

Vinod Khosla made a fortune as an Internet and IT venture capitalist. Now he's setting his sights on clean technology--and national energy policy.

Silicon vs. CIGS: With solar energy, the issue is material

What should solar panels be made of? Silicon has history on its side, but the future may lie in CIGS.
Photos: With solar energy, it's silicon vs. CIGS

Inside Toyota's hybrid factory

The plant at Tsutsumi aims to build 1,900 cars a day. When there's a problem, the music gets downright cheery.
Photos: Fueling Toyota's future

What you don't eat will heat your home

UC Davis is working on technology that turns leftover food bits into biogas, a combination of natural gas and CO2.

Eco house of the future is no hippie commune

"Green" house equipped with microbubble spa tub? Panasonic trades hippie flair for upper-middle-class ambience.
Photos: Tomorrow's eco home

Expert: LEDs could start replacing lightbulbs soon

Scientist says tech, pricing improvements to make light-emitting diodes more economical, ecological than conventional bulbs.
Photos: Lumileds' LED tech

A better way to make seawater drinkable

UCLA researcher develops efficient membrane for filtering out salt and impurities; nanoparticles do a lot of the work.

Revving up for the all-electric SUV

Can the electric car evolve from the golf cart stage? Yes, thanks to battery technology, say electric sport-utility truck makers.
Photos: An electric car that keeps going and going

Topics

Topics

• Web 2.0
• Photos
• Google
• Television
• Apple
• Open source
• Enterprise software
• Newsmakers
• Microsoft
• Privacy/surveillance
• Mobile communications
• Games
• Social networking
• Net neutrality
• Internet video
• Gadgets
• Chips
• Data security
• Clean tech
• Bugs/flaws
• Science
• PCs/servers
• Broadband
• Perspectives