Green Tech

Contraception would be the cheapest and most effective way to reduce carbon emissions worldwide between 2010 and 2050, according to a study by the London School of Economics.

The report, "Fewer Emitters, Lower Emissions, Less Cost," (PDF) determined that if contraception was made widely available between 2010 and 2050 to women and men around the world who wished to use it, the reduction in unwanted births could result in saving 34 gigatonnes (one billion tonnes) of carbon emissions. That's roughly 60 years worth of U.K. emissions or 6 years worth of U.S. emissions.

The cost for supplying, and distributing contraception over those 40 years would cost an estimated $220 billion, or $7 for each tonne of carbon emissions avoided. It's cheaper than the next most efficient low-carbon technology, wind power, which would cost $24 per tonne or $1 trillion to prevent the same amount (one billion tonnes) of carbon emissions from being produced, according to the report.

In its per-tonne cost analysis, the report also calculated $51 for solar, $57 to $83 for coal plants with carbon capture and storage, $92 for plug-in hybrid vehicles, and $131 for electric vehicles.

The contraception as carbon reduction conclusion was based on United Nations statistics that 40 percent of worldwide pregnancies are unintentional. If contraception was made available to people who wanted it, those unintentional births could be reduced by as much as 72 percent. Between 2010 and 2050, that would result in curbing the world population growth by half a billion people, according to the UN statistics.

That is a conservative estimate, according to the report, since the UN figures are based solely on the lack of contraception access for married couples, and did not include unintended pregnancy statistics for unmarried women.

The study was funded by the U.K. environmental group Optimum Population Trust (OPT), which has argued that a more responsible attitude toward reproduction could be the answer to many environmental issues such oil, food, and water shortages.

The group has said that family planning programs in poor countries should qualify for environmental aid, since fewer people result in less energy use and fewer emissions.

"It's always been obvious that total emissions depend on the number of emitters as well as their individual emissions--the carbon tonnage can't shoot down, as we want, while the population keeps shooting up," Roger Martin, chair of OPT, said in a statement.

Is the practical idea too controversial to be considered because of moral reservations, or will countries warm up to it as not only climate change, but world water supplies become an issue?

"The taboo on mentioning this fact has made the whole climate change debate so far somewhat unreal. Stabilising (sic) population levels has always been essential ecologically, and this study shows it's economically sensible too," said Martin.

Solyndra, a start-up making thin-film photovoltaic systems, has secured $600 million in funding.

It's additionally secured $1.2 billion in contracts from clients in the U.S. and Europe, the Fremont, Calif.-based company revealed Tuesday.

What start-up gets that kind of funding and client promise? Basically, one that's invented thin-film solar panels shaped like old-school fluorescent lightbulbs.

Solyndra's series of tubes offer a unique angle on solar power.

(Credit: Solyndra)

Since 2005, Solyndra has quietly been developing a proprietary CIGS-based thin film photovoltaic (PV) system and a staff of more than 500 employees.

CIGS is a material that includes a combination of copper, indium, gallium, and selenide. It's now being used by quite a number of companies to make thin-film solar cells among other things.

Solyndra's cylindrical PV panels don't have to be spaced to leave room for rotation toward the sun as with flat solar panels. The panels are actually rows of cylindrical tubes which are installed horizontally and close to one another.

The tubes can "capture sunlight across a 360-degree photovoltaic surface capable of converting direct, diffuse, and reflected sunlight into electricity," according to Solyndra.

Solyndra panels consist of tubes that can absorb sunlight from all angles.

(Credit: Solyndar)

The company also says that because of this unique shape and mounting system, more productive solar surface area can be packed onto one roof than with conventionally shaped panels. Subsequently, its system is able to generate "significantly more solar electricity on an annual basis" compared with flat panels, according to the company.

Because Solyndra's tube panels are lighter and allow wind to pass through them easily, there is less construction needed in terms of rooftop anchoring or shoring up a roof for significant weight-bearing. Because of this, according to Solyndra, its system is significantly cheaper to install than flat-panel systems

While solar power may not be considered the complete solution to U.S. energy woes, many commercial, industrial, and public facilities are looking at using solar photovoltaic systems as a supplement to their facilities' energy diets. In April, for example, the landmark Staples Center in Los Angeles announced it will be covering its 24,196-foot roof with photovoltaic modules.

Thin-film solar cells, particularly CIGS panels, have been attracting a lot of attention and funding. SoloPower, NanoSolar, and Ava Solar are thin-film solar companies that have announced funding in the hundreds of millions over the last few months. Even IBM is getting into CIGS solar cells through a partnership with a Japanese semiconductor equipment manufacturer.

Solyndra's funding comes from a mix of venture capital and private equity investments totaling $600 million to date. Solyndra investors include Virgin Green Fund, the Abu Dhabi-based Masdar, Rockport Capital Partners, and Argonaut Capital, according to a company spokeswoman.

The company has already been expanding its current plant, Venture Beat reported early Tuesday morning.

Solyndra counts Solar Power, the company contracted to do the Staples Center, and Phoenix Solar, a large solar power integration company in Europe, among its satisfied customers.

"By eliminating the need for roof-penetrating mounts and wind ballasts, PV arrays with Solyndra panels can be installed with one-third the labor, in one-third of the time, at one-half the cost. For commercial rooftops, PV module installation time can now be measured in days, not weeks. For flat commercial rooftops this is game-changing technology," Manfred Bachler, chief technical officer at Phoenix Solar, said in a statement.

In its third round of funding, Industrial Origami secured $17 million on Monday toward commercializing its fold-up sheet metal technologies for building cars and household appliances.

Wedges punched into the edges of sheet metal enable geometric forms to fit together, reducing the amount of welding and fasteners.

(Credit: Industrial Origami)

The company says its patented system can slash manufacturing costs by 70 percent. Touted environmental benefits include less scrap waste at a factory as well as more efficient industrial shipping and storage.

The London-based Environmental Technologies Fund led the round.

"Industrial Origami profoundly changes the way products are designed and manufactured," said Patrick Sheehan, a partner at the fund, said in a statement.

Washing-machine maker Whirlpool is producing goods using the technology, which is compatible with CAD design software.

Industrial Origami says its system would work with materials other than steel, including plastic and composites, and could be used in an array of additional industries including telecommunications and consumer electronics.

Solar thermal equipment maker Ausra raised $60.6 million Wednesday from an international group of investors including KERN Partners of Canada, Starfish Ventures of Australia, and Generation Investment Management of London, whose chairman is Al Gore.

They are joined by the high-profile Khosla Ventures and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, which in August raised $24.5 million for Ausra. The solar start-up secured $30 million in February.

Ausra aims to use the latest funds for research and development, as well as to finish a 5-megawatt solar thermal installation near Bakersfield, Calif.

Ausra's pilot solar-thermal power plant in Australia.

(Credit: Ausra)

"This round of technology will enable us to accelerate delivery of our technology to our customers," said Bob Fishman, Ausra CEO and president, in a statement.

Ausra began producing reflectors in June at its new Las Vegas plant.

It's working with utility Pacific Gas & Electric to build a 177-megawatt solar plant near San Luis Obispo, Calif.

A March report from Ausra predicts that solar thermal technology could provide most of the U.S. grid's electricity within half a century.

Solar thermal equipment converts heat to energy. In part due to its relatively low cost, the technology is key to the massive solar power farms bound for the deserts of California and Nevada.

Typically more expensive, photovoltaic solar technology used in solar panels converts light to energy.

Executive Vice President John O'Donnell is leaving Ausra to push for renewable energy policies, including those of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, according to the Cleantech Group.

The Palo Alto, Calif., start-up originated in Australia.

Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers on Thursday announced the expected creation of a fund dedicated to growing green-technology firms.

The Silicon Valley venture capital firm said $500 million out of a larger $1.2 billion fund will go to "growth stage" green-technology firms that need additional capital to commercialize their work.

Kleiner Perkins partner John Doerr

(Credit: Martin LaMonica/CNET News.com)

Kleiner Perkins established a $100 million green-technology fund in 2006 for start-up seed funding. This Green Growth Fund will make investments of $10 million to $50 million to ramp up existing companies, Kleiner Perkins executives told The Wall Street Journal.

The structure of the fund reflects one of the primary differences between the energy business and related sectors such as information technology or biotechnology.

To make a mark commercially, clean-tech companies often need a substantial amount of capital to either develop the technology or demonstrate that their technology can work on an industrial scale. Investments in biofuel refineries or solar-power plants, for example, typically amount to hundreds of millions of dollars.

In a speech last month at the MIT Energy Conference, Kleiner Perkins partner John Doerr noted that Google--another Kleiner investment--required $25 million before it went public, while fuel cell company Bloom Energy has already gone through $250 million and is still developing its product.

"The world has embarked on the next industrial revolution," Kleiner Perkins partner John Denniston said in a statement. "The growing sense of global urgency over our twin energy crises--climate change and energy security--is now driving businesses to become green, consumers to demand green, and policymakers to drive policies to accelerate the market adoption of green products."

Part of the money for the later-stage green-growth fund will come from Generation Investment Management, an investment firm co-founded by Al Gore, who is now a Kleiner partner.

President Bush called for the creation of a clean-energy fund for developing countries in his final State of the Union speech on Monday, but energy policy took a back seat to other international and domestic issues.

Bush reiterated many of his previous policy priorities during the speech, including a call for funding of carbon capture technologies, nuclear power, and fuels that reduce the country's reliance on oil. An excerpt from the speech:

"To build a future of energy security, we must trust in the creative genius of American researchers and entrepreneurs and empower them to pioneer a new generation of clean energy technology. (Applause.) Our security, our prosperity, and our environment all require reducing our dependence on oil. Last year, I asked you to pass legislation to reduce oil consumption over the next decade, and you responded. Together we should take the next steps: Let us fund new technologies that can generate coal power while capturing carbon emissions. (Applause.) Let us increase the use of renewable power and emissions-free nuclear power. (Applause.) Let us continue investing in advanced battery technology and renewable fuels to power the cars and trucks of the future. (Applause.) Let us create a new international clean technology fund, which will help developing nations like India and China make greater use of clean energy sources. And let us complete an international agreement that has the potential to slow, stop, and eventually reverse the growth of greenhouse gases. (Applause.)

A Reuters report on Monday provided more details on the clean-energy fund, quoting a Treasury Department official.

The fund would be designed to provide fast-growing countries like China and India the means to update their energy infrastructure from older, dirtier technology to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Can these guys ever stay out of the news?

Tesla Motors is wrapping up a $40 million round of funding and will then seek another one on top of that in a few months, according to an interview with CEO Ze'ev Drori in VentureWire (subscription required).

Tesla has already raised more than $100 million. The money was largely used to develop the Tesla Roadster, an all-electric sports car coming out later this year, and build out the company's facilities. Car factories cost a lot. The onerous capital requirements, along with the long development time, are two of the reasons you don't see a lot of car start-ups make it to maturity. Still, when companies get past the $100 million mark in funding without releasing a product, eyebrows start to go up in Silicon Valley. Something about that number tends to bring out skeptics.

Despite the long odds for a car company, many are trying. There are well over 20 electric and hybrid car start-ups, ranging from economy car specialists like Miles Automotive to high-end hybrids like the ones from Fisker Automotive. Then there are the three-wheelers from Venture Vehicles.

Tesla has had a rocky time lately. In 2007, it delayed the release of the Roadster from last year to this year, fessed up to problems with the car's transmission, and swapped CEOs.

The delay of the Roadster could, possibly, lead to delays with the company's plans to come out with an all-electric sedan. Tesla has been hoping to come out with that in late 2009 or early 2010. Getting the price of an electric sedan to the $50,000 or less mark is tough because of the price of batteries. Interestingly, company execs have even complimented the Chevy Volt, which uses gas and electric power. A Volt type of car can be built for less and have a longer range, hypothetically, than a pure electric.

Recently, it also said it had cut around 26 employees, or 10 percent of its staff. Tesla denied layoffs were occurring back in December. These terminations, it says, relate to employee performance.