Green-tech news harvest: Tesla drivetrain, Google on plug-in hybrids

• Cellulosic ethanol plant opens--Technology Review
  An important milestone: Verenium will open an ethanol plant in Jennings, La., that will use agricultural waste from sugar cane farming.
• Engineering update on Powertrain 1.5--Tesla Motors blog
  Tesla's CTO offers the nitty-gritty on a one-speed, more durable drivetrain that's expected to make it into cars later this year.

Tesla Roadster's upcoming one-speed drivetrain. More durable, still fast.
(Credit: Tesla Motors)
• RechargeIT goes to Washington, calls for plug-in videos--Official Google.org Blog
  Google.org and the Brookings Institute will host an event in Washington, D.C., to see how plug-in hybrids can lessen dependence on oil. Via Earth2Tech
• Signet Solar, or how the chip industry will colonize the solar business--Greentech Media
  Michael Kanellos parses the opening of a new thin-film solar cell production line to make the point of how the brutally efficient chip industry is bring down solar costs.
• 'Last best chance' for renewable energy tax credits?--Renewable Energy World
  The latest attempt to pass an investment tax credit, which is set to expire at the end of this year. The uncertainty is already causing a slowdown in the wind and solar businesses, companies say.
• SunEthanol receives third DOE grant for cellulosic research--Ethanol Producer Magazine
  SunEthanol, which launched last year, is using a naturally occurring bug to break down plants to make ethanol.