Energy

Pushing to stay one step ahead of rivals, First Solar today set a new mark for the efficiency of its solar panels.

The company said that it achieved 14.4 percent efficiency in converting sunlight to electric power for a panel in its research labs. At the individual solar-cell level, the efficiency is 17.3 percent. (Solar cells are assembled and linked together in a solar panel).

For solar-panel manufacturers, efficiency and production costs are the two primary levers to differentiate products. With the ramp-up of well-financed Chinese manufacturers, the price of solar panels has plummeted over the past three … Read more

Startup Joule has secured the money to take its potentially breakthrough biofuel technology to a larger scale.

The company today announced that undisclosed private and institutional investors led a $70 million funding to build a larger demonstration plant. The announcement was made at the Technology Leaders in Future Energy conference in Abu Dhabi. Founding investor Flagship Ventures also joined the round.

Founded in 2007, Joule took a clean-sheet approach to making biofuels which now are primarily made from corn or sugar cane. Its process uses a genetically engineered version of cyanobacteria to produce diesel or ethanol using only sunlight, water, … Read more

Eos Energy Storage is developing a zinc air battery it claims will be able to clear up bottlenecks on the power grid by placing them at office buildings and shopping malls.

The energy storage startup before the end of March plans to close a round of funding from corporate partners which is expected to be at least $5.5 million. It plans to raise $20 million by the end of this year and start making its batteries at a pilot manufacturing facility next year, said President Steve Hellman.

Although it doesn't have a product on the market yet, Eos … Read more

The average consumer isn't likely to spend much effort managing home energy. Big power users in businesses, on the other hand, will go out of their way cut down on waste.

Start-up company Tenrehte, based near Rochester, New York, launched its PicoWatt smart outlet at CES two years ago, aiming to appeal to green-minded consumers. The idea is that a sub-$100 Wi-Fi-enabled smart outlet would transmit energy data to an online app which would let consumers save money by scheduling things to run at off-peak times.

Now two years later, Tenrehte has changed its focus to industrial and … Read more

Cree is trying to put LED lighting on the same price and performance curve that people are used to with computers.

The company today announced redesigned LED light sources that promise a significant cut in the cost of LED lighting and a quicker pace of technical improvement.

Cree estimates that the new design, which uses smaller LED chips, can cut the cost of the LED components by 50 percent. At retail, that translates to a roughly 25 percent cost reduction, said product marketing manager Paul Scheidt.

"LEDs are at the point where the technology is good enough to get … Read more

An energy project in Austria will use biogas-powered fuel cells at homes and businesses to pump power into the grid.

ClearEdge Power today announced a deal with Austrian energy company Gussing Renewable Energy to supply 50 megawatts worth of fuel cells between now and 2020 for installation in Austria. The deal will be worth $500 million over that time, making it one of the biggest contracts for stationary fuel cells.

In the first phase, ClearEdge Power's large refrigerator-size fuel cells, which each can generate five kilowatts of electric power and heat from gas, will be installed to power groups … Read more

Among the throngs at CES next week there will be a cadre of scientist looking to crack into the consumer electronics world.

There will be 24 companies incubated by the National Science Foundation exhibiting at the Eureka Park TechZone at the event. By creating the zone, the Consumer Electronics Association is looking to highlight innovations from startups.

When it comes to the NSF-affiliated bunch, the technologies are all over the map, touching on electronics, health, and alternative energy. Here's a sampling.

Gamma Dynamics is expected to show off its latest developments in a super-thin, flexible display technology, which could … Read more

Modernizing 150-year-old battery technology may be one of the cheapest routes to hybrid autos.

Axion Power International has a developed an advanced lead-acid battery it hopes will attract automakers and grid storage providers. The basic chemistry and components are the same, but the company has an activated carbon negative electrode, a change that leads to better performance over time, according to the company.

In the auto industry, the company is targeting start-stop hybrids in particular. Also called microhybrids, start-stop systems feature a small battery to run a car's electronics when idle and to aid in accelerating.

Unlike an all-electric … Read more

Do-it-yourself retailer Lowe's later this year will sell three home automation kits designed to plug thermostats and home security gear into a home network.

The company today announced a deal with U.K.-based AlertMe which will provide the equipment and a cloud-based service, called Iris, for home energy management, automation, and monitoring.

The products will be available mid year and be priced for the "mass market," said Kevin Meagher, the vice president and general manager for smart home at Lowe's. All three kits will be self-installable and can be accessed from Internet-connected devices, such as … Read more