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Runaway green jobs inflation

Last month, the Brookings Institute published a report entitled “Sizing the Clean Economy” which promises:The “green” or “clean” or low-carbon economy—defined as the sector of the economy that produces...

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An end to ethanol pandering?

Subsidies for corn-based ethanol have for years been the third rail of politics in Iowa, home of the first presidential caucus. Just like social security in Florida, even suggesting that subsidies be...

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Ad hominem attacks over cleantech VC 'disaster'

At a TechCrunch conference in San Francisco, PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel said (according to VentureBeat):“Cleantech is an increasingly large disaster that people in Silicon Valley aren’t even talking...

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Who lost Solyndra?

For the second time this summer, I found myself watching a C-SPAN congressional hearing on a major issue of economic policy. This time, the hearing was about the $535 million Federally guaranteed-loan...

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Putting eggs in the wrong basket

The DOE’s loan guarantee program is coming to a close — going out with a bang and not a whimper. Today particularly it’s proving to be “news that’s fit to print,” as the old Grey Lady motto goes.The...

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Biofuels from 5000'

Biofuels are being used at 30,000' as airlines (and aircraft manufacturers) explore options for growing rather than drilling for Jet A feedstock. (They will actually be used at much higher altitudes if...

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In Memoriam: 2011 solar shakeout victims

As part of updating a research paper I’m writing on solar policy, I’ve been catching up on the state of the solar business. (Regular readers will note that since I joined KGI, I’ve been paying a lot...

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Better ways to spend $100 billion

The $100 billion, 22-year projected cost of the proposed California High Speed Rail system should be enough to kill it. But this week, Governor Brown vested his full support — and personal credibility...

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The cost of German solar policies

Bjørn Lomborg is a controversial PhD political scientist who has questioned the cost effectiveness of various efforts to mitigate global warming.His Feb. 16 syndicated commentary discusses the...

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MIT: how to integrate more renewables

The MIT Energy Initiative is holding a free webinar March 12, broadcast from a live seminar at MIT. The event will discuss the results of the MITEI symposium on how to leverage renewable power sources...

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Oil and biofuel companies as 'frenemies'

Reuters highlights the cooperative and competing interests of biofuels companies and traditional oil companies in an article entitled “Oil, biofuel companies evolve into uneasy ‘frenemies’.” The term...

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All-star biofuels panel May 8

On May 8, I will be emcee for an all-star biofuels panel that I’ve been working for the past 5 months to organize. We will have under one roof the top execs of four of the Bay Area’s leading biofuels...

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What is the least bad RE?

On Thursday I started my course on renewable energy at San Jose State. As far as I know this is the first time EE/RE has been covered in the College of Business, and is the net result of the SJSU Solar...

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State of the US biofuels industry

On Tuesday, the MIT alumni club in Silicon Valley hosted a freewheeling discussion by four executives from leading US biofuels companies, discussing the opportunities and challenges of building a new...

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Video for all-star biofuels panel

The video from Tuesday’s MITCNC biofuels panel discussion has been posted to MIT’s video channel, TechTV.For those who were not in Menlo Park, here is the program:MITCNC Energy and Cleantech...

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Solving the EV chicken & egg problem

As part of a settlement over the 2001 California energy crisis, NRG Energy promised to spend $100m to build EV charging stations across the state. On Friday a rival charging station company sued to...

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Jerry Brown's white elephant legacy

From the San Jose Mercury News,June 10, 2012, p. A18:EditorialEnough. Stop rail fantasy in its tracksThere is a fine line between visionary and delusional. California's high-speed rail project whizzed...

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Train wrecks California budget?

From the Sacramento BeeBy a bare majority, the state Senate voted Friday to approve initial construction on California's $68 billion high-speed rail project, ending months of intense lobbying and...

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Candidates duck energy debate

In anticipation of the first presidential debate, I was interviewed by a representative of LA’s second largest newspaper group. Here’s how it appeared in the front page of the Los Angeles Daily...

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Are biofuels doomed without subsidies?

A molecular biologist (turned biofuels entrepreneur) made a stark prediction Tuesday:Famed genomics researcher J. Craig Venter, who is working to develop biofuels from photosynthetic algae,...

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Magnifying rather than quelling range anxiety

In the ongoing search for electric car nirvana, the Tesla Motor Company has enjoyed an unusually charmed existence. Perhaps it’s the Silicon Valley mystique, perhaps it’s the Midas touch attributed to...

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Rise and fall of the world’s biggest solar company

In 2011, Suntech Power Holdings was the world’s biggest solar panel producer, shipping more than 2 gigawatts of panels. As Wayne Ma of the Wall Street Journal reported today:Suntech is now in Chinese...

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Hopes and dreams for the Department of Energy

The Senate last week unanimously confirmed MIT physicist Ernest Moniz as the new Secretary of Energy. As an MIT alumnus, I’m proud — but as an organizational scholar and (part-time) energy economist,...

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Where will the clean energy come from?

Last week, the president proposed a new push to reduce GHG. It’s not clear how (or if) the Congress will go along, or how much can be legally accomplished without legislative support. One of the major...

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Potential payoffs from ubiquitous BIPV

As an MIT alum interested in clean energy, I subscribe to the free semiannual magazine Energy Futures.The purpose of the magazine is to tout MIT advances in energy technology, but since MIT (with the...

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