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Archive for the ‘Industry News’ Category
Apr
WA Venture Funding Up 41% in Q1
Posted by Tom Ranken | No Comments | Categories: Complete Digest, Industry News
Source: Diana Samuels, TechFlash, April 18, 2012.
Venture funding in Washington state increased 41 percent in Q1 of 2012. The $206 million invested was a five-quarter high. Nationally, dollars invested by VC firms dropped 22 percent in the first quarter of this year, according to a report by CB Insights.
Apr
Smart Grid Venture Capital at $62M in Q1 2012
Posted by Tom Ranken | No Comments | Categories: Complete Digest, Industry News
Source: Jeff St. John, Greentech Grid, April 17, 2012.
According to the Mercom Capital Group’s smart grid report, venture capital investment in smart grid was $61 million in the first quarter of 2012. The number is down slightly from the prior quarter (six percent), but down thirty-nine percent from the same quarter last year. The record for the sector was $305 million raised in the second quarter of 2010.
Merger and acquisition activity was strong, however, with over a half billion dollars for the quarter for disclosed deals.
Apr
Green Job Growth: 2.4% of the US Work Force
Posted by Tom Ranken | No Comments | Categories: Complete Digest, Industry News
Source: Richard Florida, Atlantic Cities, March 26, 2012.
A new report by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that in 2010, 2.4 percent of US workers were employed in green goods and services. That translates into 3.1 million total jobs of which three quarters are in the private sector (2.3 million).
Washington state ranks eighth in percentage of green jobs with 3.3 percent of the labor force working in the sector.
Richard Florida, writing in Atlantic Cities, suggests that there is a strong correlation between green jobs and states with:
- Higher incomes;
- College graduatation; and
- Knowledge base and creative economies.
He concludes that: “This analysis is interesting. It suggests that, though the green job sector is likely to grow, it is unlikely to provide a steady supply of lower-skill jobs or substantially bolster the economies or job markets of more heavily industrialized states.”
Apr
Nathan Myhrvold Comments on Fracking
Posted by Tom Ranken | 1 Comment | Categories: Complete Digest, Industry News
Source: Emily Parkhurst, TechFlash, April 3, 2012.
Nathan Myhrvold of Intellectual Ventures commented at a Pacific Science Center breakfast about hydraulic fracturing (fracking), a technique becoming commonly used to extract natural gas.
Myhrvold said the energy industry needs an innovative miracle. “In some technologies, you never really break even,” he said. “One of those is natural gas.” He called fracking an energy miracle because it drops the price of energy significantly. But, he said, it won’t pay off and will instead pull the rug out from under other options, such as solar, which are better in the long run. “The technology miracle of fracking is going to ‘frack’ up alternative energy because it’s so cheap and available,” he said.
Apr
US Biggest Investor in Clean Energy in 2011
Posted by Tom Ranken | No Comments | Categories: Complete Digest, Industry News
Source: Mark Kinver, BBC, April 12, 2012.
The US was the biggest investor in clean energy in 2011, according to the Pew Charitable Trusts. The US invested more than $48 billion in the sector, an increase of $14 billion over the prior year.
Total clean energy investment in China increased by $500 million to $45.5 billion.
Globally, clean energy financing hit a record $263 billion.
The report, “Who’s Winning the Clean Energy Race? 2011 Edition,” can be found here.
Apr
Seattle Ranks 13th for Startups
Posted by Tom Ranken | No Comments | Categories: Complete Digest, Industry News
Source: John Cook, Geekwire, April 12, 2012.
Seattle ranks thirteenth globally for starting new companies according to research conducted by Startup Genome. Here are the top 25 cities, according to Startup Genome.
- Silicon Valley (San Francisco, Palo Alto, San Jose, Oakland)
- New York City
- London
- Toronto
- Tel Aviv
- Los Angeles
- Singapore
- Sao Paulo
- Bangalore
- Moscow
- Paris
- Santiago
- Seattle
- Madrid
- Chicago
- Vancouver
- Berlin
- Boston
- Austin
- Mumbai
- Sydney
- Melbourne
- Warsaw
- Washington, D.C.
- Montreal
Mar
Seattle Listed #5 Smart, Sustainable City
Posted by Tom Ranken | No Comments | Categories: Complete Digest, Industry News
Source: Shawn Lesser, Green Chip Stocks, March 16, 2012.
Shawn Lesser writes on Green Chip Stocks that Seattle is one of the nation’s top Smart, Sustainable Cities. A “Smart City, ” he writes, is “defined as one that uses technologies in the field of information and communication to become much more intelligent in the way it handles resources to ensure in savings via cost and energy. These technologies are also utilized to improve quality of life for all residents as well as decrease climate change and negative environmental impact.”
Seattle is noted for:
- The Green Building Sustainable Communities Program which creates projects that meet sustainable outcomes;
- Tax breaks and loans provided to businesses and residences;
- Leadership in using garbage to generate electricity;
- The top Green Fleet Plan in the U.S. working to reduce petroleum dependence; and
- The Seattle community being instrumental in the creation of energy efficiency policies.
The top five cities are Boston, San Jose, San Diego, and Austin.
Mar
Energy and Utilities Ranks Second for 2011 Angel Investing
Posted by Tom Ranken | No Comments | Categories: Company News, Industry News
The energy and utilities sector ranked ranked second (behind health care) in dollars invested in 2011 according to the Halo Report. Of all dollars invested by angels and reported, energy and utilities accounted for 27.2 percent. The sector ranked sixth in total number of deals completed with 3.8 percent of the total of angel investments reported, reflecting the largest investment amount in a sector.
For angel investments overall, the Pacific Northwest had 7.2 percent of the total deals and 2.3 percent of total dollars reported.
The Angel Resource Institute, Silicon Valley Bank and CB Insights created the Halo Report. The Halo Report includes aggregate analysis of investment activity by angels and angel groups and highlights trends in round sizes, location, and industry preferences.
The report has a sample of 573 deals, totaling $873.3 million. Find the report here.
Mar
Drive Oregon 03/08/12 ARPA-E Workshop
Posted by Tom Ranken | No Comments | Categories: Complete Digest, Industry News
Source: Jan Greylorn, March 12, 2012.
For their March meeting Drive Oregon (http://driveoregon.org/) presented a workshop on the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E http://arpa-e.energy.gov/Home.aspx).
Drive Oregon is a nonprofit public-private partnership with diverse membership from across the range of companies and organizations involved in electrifying the transportation system. Drive Oregon’s industry representation consists of companies that develop and produce vehicles, components, perform conversions, and provide consulting services for hybrid and electric vehicles and energy storage technologies. Drive Oregon is funded in part with Oregon State Lottery Funds administered by Business Oregon. It is one of six Oregon Innovation Council initiatives supporting innovation and long term economic growth. Drive Oregon’s mission is to promote, support, and grow the electric vehicle industry in Oregon.
The Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) mission is to fund trans formative, scalable energy technologies. Their web site (http://arpa-e.energy.gov/Home.aspx) details their charter, resources and events. The agenda for their February 28 meeting (http://www.ct-si.org/events/EnergyInnovation/program/) details the scope of their projects.
Drive Oregon ARPA-E Workshop: On March 2, 2012, the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (“ARPA-E”) issued an OpenFunding Opportunity Announcement to identify high-risk, high-reward concepts for energy-related technologies that may enhance our nation’s energy and economic security. This definitely includes electric vehicle technologies, and could provide millions of dollars for such businesses. The submission deadline for the notice of intent to file is March 30, 2012.
The speakers at the conference were:
- James P. McDougall is Board President of Drive Oregon and CEO of ReVolt Technology, which received $5 million from ARPA-E in 2010. James discusses his firm’s experience and offers for businesses considering an application in 2012.
- David Kenney is Executive Director of Oregon BEST, the Oregon Built Environment and Sustainable Technology Center. David provides additional insights and advice from the ARPA-E Energy Innovation 02/28/12 Summit. Presentation – http://driveoregon.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/ARPAPPTKenneySmall.pdf
Each presentation should be viewed with some care. Both praise the ARPA-E program, personnel, and process. Each gives personal insights into the process and commitment necessary for success. The lessons learned are more valuable than a day with a team of K Street mavens.
-Jan Greylorn
Mar
Governor Gregoire Signs Bill Expanding Renewable Energy Law
Posted by Tom Ranken | No Comments | Categories: Complete Digest, Industry News
Source: CBS News, March 8, 2012.
Governor Gregoire signed a bill into law that broadens the definition of renewable energy. Electricity produced from older biomass facilities including pulp mills are now eligible under the renewable energy definition. Energy generated from the byproducts of pulping or wood manufacturing processes, yard and food wastes, and untreated construction debris now qualify as renewables. Longview Fibre Paper and Packaging and Weyerhaeuser’s Longview plant are now eligible.
This is the first time that I-937 has been amended since its passage by the voters in 2006 despite numerous endeavors. The law requires the state’s largest utilities to generate fifteen percent of their electricity generation from renewables (wind, solar, geothermal, and some qualifying woody biomasses) by 2020. Hydropower and biomass facilities built prior to 1999 are not considered renewables under the law.
Read the full story here.
