energy

Serious Materials announced today that its proprietary system for retrofitting windows for thermal efficiency--a system that attracted attention during the Empire State Building's recent makeover--is now available for commercial buildings.

The company gained recognition for developing a system to overhaul and improve the efficiency of the Empire State Building's 6,514 windows as part of the iconic skyscraper's $20 million refresh. The window retrofit was done with no visual change whatsoever to the exterior of the building. Most of the original 26,000 panes of glass were reused, and the changes to each window casement were done … Read more

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.--Energy Secretary Steven Chu is drawing on U.S. history in research and development to advocate for policies to encourage clean energy technology innovation for the future.

Chu gave the keynote speech at the ARPA-E Summit here today, saying once again that the U.S. is in a race with China, the European Union, and other countries to create energy products expected to grow in demand.

He started out by showing a graph of the rise and fall of oil prices over time, saying that people cannot accurately say where oil prices be in a few years … Read more

Ten eastern states in a greenhouse gas reduction program have invested more than half of their carbon permit auction proceeds, or about $404 million, in energy efficiency, the group said today.

New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, and seven other states on the East Coast belong to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI, which aims to trim carbon dioxide output from the area's power plants 10 percent by the end of 2018.

To meet that goal, RGGI holds quarterly auctions of permits that let the plants emit carbon dioxide. Some investors also buy the credits in the cap-and-trade program, believing … Read more

The future, we are told, is smart homes able to remotely control appliances, secure us from intruders, and use energy superefficiently. As I sit here with a box full of barely used equipment, I feel like an unconvinced Luddite.

A few months ago, a representative from the Z-Wave Alliance offered to loan me some wireless home automation equipment to check out. Given that CNET has a tech-savvy audience, I've written extensively about home energy management systems designed to give consumers more control over how and when they use energy. I've been giving it a try in fits and … Read more

In the last eight months, Morris County, N.J., has undergone a significant energy change of which many of its residents are probably not even aware.

The partners involved call it the "Morris Model." It's a new financing model that allows municipalities to partner with solar-energy companies to incorporate solar energy into their energy portfolio for little outlay.

In June the Morris County Improvement Authority (MCIA) announced it was entering into this Morris Model financing plan with Tioga Energy and SunDurance Energy to install about 3-megawatts worth of solar panels by offering up something it already had: … Read more

Rather than burning stuff to make electricity, a handful of thermoelectric-technology companies are trying to tap waste heat as an energy source.

Phononic Devices yesterday said that it raised $10 million to further develop and commercialize its semiconductor material for converting heat into electricity and efficient cooling. Investors in the series B round were Venrock and Oak Investment Partners.

The Raleigh, N.C.-based company is improving on technology originally developed at the University of Oklahoma that can be embedded in small chips. Initially, the company plans to make modules for refrigeration or cooling electronic equipment.

On Thursday, another thermoelectric … Read more

Deep offshore wind could produce energy for 8-10 cents per kilowatt within 10 years, according to a report released today from the University of Maine and DeepCWind.org.

The extensive 557-page report (PDF) represents a collaboration between the Advanced Structures and Composites Center at the University of Maine, and the James W. Sewall Company, but was funded with a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.

The report includes input from several members of DeepCWind.org, a consortium of companies, manufacturers, environmentalist groups, and academic institutions related to the offshore wind industry.

More interesting than how inexpensive … Read more

After looking around for home energy efficiency investments for years, venture capital company General Catalyst decided to buy a majority stake in ClearResult, a sign of confidence in a relatively small, low-tech industry.

General Catalyst said it has bought a majority stake in Austin, Texas-based ClearResult, which works mainly with utilities to design commercial and residential building-efficiency programs. General Catalyst managing director Hemant Taneja today declined to say how much it invested.

Traditionally, venture capitalists have steered clear of service-oriented businesses, favoring instead entrepreneurs with unique technology which offers the potential for rapid growth. For example, Next Step Living, a … Read more

Rapid recent solar and wind price falls are likely to bring new markets and mass adoption a step closer over the next decade and raise the prospects of mergers.

The financial crisis coupled with a ramp-up in China, which now leads the world wind and solar manufacturing, have led to over-capacity and pressured prices in the past three years.

Natural gas is the main fossil fuel rival and still wins on price after U.S. shale gas finds created a global glut.

But wind and solar are now competitive in niche markets after prices of turbines fell by a fifth … Read more