SolFocus Raises over $77 Million in Series C Funding

Funding to Support Rapid Manufacturing Ramp as the Company's Concentrator Photovoltaic (CPV) Systems Reach Commercial Scale

SolFocus, the leading developer of Concentrator Photovoltaic (CPV) systems, today announced that it has closed its Series C Funding round having raised $77.6 million. The company is completing its transition from pilot production to full scale commercialization, with the expansion of manufacturing from 0.5MW in 2008 to over 10MW to be shipped this year, with capacity for over 50MW going into 2011. The funds raised in this C Round will be used to support the rapid manufacturing ramp in the company's transition to volume production. SolFocus announced a first close on the C Round in January of this year, at which time it had raised $47 million. Since that first close the company has raised an additional $30.6 million, bringing the total round to $77.6 million.

"Closing a round of investment with more than $77 million is no small feat in this challenging fund-raising environment, and a good indication of market expectations for SolFocus in 2009 – the year of CPV commercialization," said Mark Crowley, Chief Executive Officer and President. "The investment will allow SolFocus to align its operations, engineering, and project management with the demands of global manufacturing and deployment."

The C Round was led by Apex Venture Partners, a Chicago-based venture firm focused on investments in companies with high potential for value creation in a variety of sectors including technology, software, IT infrastructure and telecommunications. "The strength of a firm like Apex Venture Partners as the round lead was instrumental in our ability to exceed our fund-raising target," commented SolFocus VP of Finance Bob Raybuck. "The strong product and market position of the company was also confirmed by the combination of existing and new investors joining the round." Follow-on participants in the round included New Enterprise Associates (NEA) who led the A and B Rounds for the company, NGEN and Yellowstone Ventures. New investors in the round include Demeter Partners, affiliates of Advanced Equities, and others. Advanced Equities, Inc. served as the financial advisor to SolFocus on the financing.

"SolFocus has the right mix of innovation and execution to deliver on its promise of low-cost solar energy in high-sun regions around the world," commented Wayne Boulais of Apex Venture Partners. "The challenge for new technology in today's tight capital markets is intense, but we believe that SolFocus has demonstrated its ability to move forward on a deliberate path that will allow the company to meet these challenges and excel." Mr. Boulais is a General Partner at Apex Venture Partners, and has been elected to the SolFocus Board of Directors.

The SolFocus CPV design employs a system of reflective optics to concentrate sunlight 650 times onto small, highly efficient solar cells. The SolFocus 1100S uses approximately 1/1,000th of the active, expensive solar cell material compared to traditional photovoltaic panels. In addition, the cells used in SolFocus CPV systems have over twice the efficiency of traditional silicon cells. In solar-rich locations, such efficiency can accelerate the trajectory for solar energy to reach cost parity with fossil fuels.

The funding builds upon a series of commercial milestones for SolFocus: the release of the SolFocus 1100S system in November; the largest CPV installation in Europe currently underway in Greece; the first certification of a CPV system to IEC 62108 standards, and the 15X capacity expansion of the company's manufacturing facility in Mesa, Arizona.

A world technological first for Schneider Electric with the introduction of a ZigBee-based wireless, batteryless switch

Schneider Electric unveiled the prototype of the world’s first ZigBee-compatible self-powered switch at the ZigBee European Forum in Munich, Germany, on June 29.

With this wireless, batteryless switch based on ZigBee technology, Schneider Electric is responding to market expectations for a product that is:
- easy to install, as it is wireless,
- reliable, as the switch operates continuously and requires no maintenance,
- green, as there are no batteries to recycle.

The switch illustrates two aspects that Schneider Electric feels are indispensable in the design of more energy efficient solutions for residential and commercial buildings: true interoperability of networked equipment and the confidence and foundation for upgradeability provided by a shared technological standard.

“With this world first, Schneider Electric’s Innovation Department has achieved a real technological breakthrough, made possible by an intense development effort,” notes Philippe Delorme, Executive Vice President, Strategy & Innovation of Schneider Electric. “By using an open global standard, we are making communication less complex and contributing to the emergence of ambient intelligence in buildings.”

A key leader of the ZigBee Alliance, Schneider Electric took a stand very early on to promote this wireless technology as a standard that would allow different radio frequency applications to communicate and enhance everyday life.

Simple, open technological standards are the best way to foster the emergence of new, more effective applications. As the world’s energy management specialist, Schneider Electric is actively committed to developing these kinds of standards in energy and automation, as well as in communication and IT. For this reason, the Group is involved in numerous local and international standards organizations, including the IEC, ISO and ODVA.

The prototype presented in Munich grew out of Schneider Electric’s involvement in the HOMES program (http://www.homesprogramme.com/), a European project comprising 13 manufacturers and researchers that is designed to create solutions for achieving optimal energy performance in all buildings. Emulation and knowledge sharing within this ecosystem considerably speeded the development of the ZigBee-compatible self-powered switch.

In working to meet the major challenge of energy efficiency, Schneider Electric’s R&D teams are guided by a shared commitment to reducing energy consumption, optimizing connectivity and offering simple solutions. By delivering the necessary breakthrough technologies expected by its core markets while making customer satisfaction the key focus of innovation, Schneider Electric is helping to bring forward the energy solutions of tomorrow.

Home Wind Turbine - Things you need to know

Home wind turbine has become a widely popular energy saving system around the world today, Find out how you can turn wind as energy when you build your own wind turbine today!

The characteristic of a home wind turbine is specially designed to be environmentally friendly and costs saving. With the existence of harmful greenhouse gases in our environment today, it is recommended to have one of these great systems to reduce the amount of pollutants being produced into the environment.

Looking into more benefits of a home wind turbine, its features also include generating free supply of electricity from natural wind energy, as such; you can save over 80% of your electrical bills every month. In other words, if you are interested in saving money, one of the most effective ways to save money is by switching to alternative sources of creating electricity with a home wind turbine.

Things You Need To Know:

1. Wind Flow
A home wind turbine requires wind at a constant rate to operate efficiently. Check the yearly average amount of wind flow in your area.
If you are staying in the U.S, you can acquire the windflow data from the American Wind Energy Association website at awea.org.

2. Watch Out Obstructions Surrounding Your House
Research for tall obstructions around the surrounding of your house. This is important as they may hinder the wind flow towards your house.

Besides man-made objects, look out for huge trees that get in the way of the wind flow to your house. Remember, your home wind turbine needs as much wind flow in order for it to perform well.

3. Check If Home Wind Turbines Are Allowed In Your Area
Check with your local CC&Rs and local zoning if it is alright to have a home wind turbine installed beside or behind your house.

Base on the huge amount of searches on the internet, an increasing amount of homeowners are interested to use home wind turbines to power their homes today. This real and practical approach to save costs and protect the environment has grown enormously popular, cheap and practical.

A home wind turbine is very affordable, especially when you do-it-yourself. The estimated cost to build your very own home wind turbine is around a hundred dollars.

There are many installation guides available for building your own DIY home wind turbines on the internet. You may want to check out the guides available at http://www.greenearth4energy.com. There, you can find top guides on how to build a solar panel, a home wind turbine and a solar water heater altogether.

Alternative, you may want to get your home wind turbine installation guide directly here: http://www.earthenergyguide.com

100 million European households will have smart meters by 2014

According to a new research report from the analyst firm Berg Insight, the installed base of smart electricity meters in Europe will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 16.2 percent between 2008 and 2014 to reach 96.3 million at the end of the period.

The strong uptake of intelligent metering puts within reach the EU-wide target that 80 percent of the households should have smart meters by 2020. Providing consumers with detailed information about their electricity consumption, the new generation of meters give customers control over energy costs and create financial incentives for energy savings.

The adoption of smart meters started in Italy and has continued in the Nordic countries where Sweden decided to make smart meters mandatory from July 2009, starting a trend for the rest of Europe. "Today, Sweden has become the first country in the world to achieve 100 percent penetration for smart meters", said Tobias Ryberg, Senior Analyst, Berg Insight. "In the next years Italy, Ireland, Norway and Finland will follow and by the end of the next decade many more countries including France, Spain and the UK will also have smart meters."

He adds that some countries are moving slower due to resistance from certain stakeholders. The Netherlands has postponed the rollout of smart meters following a heated debate over the potential risk that remote monitoring of energy consumption would lead to privacy violations and in Germany the government is reluctant to impose what could be perceived as a surveillance technology. "The privacy threat from smart meters is grossly exaggerated", said Ryberg. "They are opposed because they represent a new technology for collecting information in a time when large groups of people are afraid of the consequences of living in an information based society. Indeed the energy industry has a major responsibility in protecting the privacy of its customers, but first and foremost it must work to create a sustainable energy system in which smart meters are an essential component."

Clean Technology Venture Investment Rebounds in 2Q09

$1.2 billion in venture capital invested in clean technology companies, led by electric vehicles and biofuels, while solar investment hits new low

The Cleantech Group™, founders of the cleantech sector and providers of leading global market research, events and advisory services for the cleantech ecosystem, along with Deloitte, which provides audit, tax, consulting and financial advisory services to cleantech companies, today released preliminary 2Q09 results for clean technology venture investments in North America, Europe, China and India, totaling $1.2 billion across 94 companies.

Cleantech venture investment rebounded in the second quarter, after having declined significantly in 4Q08 and 1Q09, paralleling declines in other investment sectors amid the global economic downturn. The 2Q09 total is up 12 percent from the previous quarter, although down 44 percent from the same period a year ago. The average round size in 2Q09 was $12.9 million, up from $12.3 million 1Q09.

“Cleantech venture investment has rebounded moderately after free-falling for two consecutive quarters,” said Brian Fan, senior director of research, Cleantech Group. “We are seeing initial signs of recovery in other cleantech asset classes, including recent activity in solar tax equity, increased M&A levels, as well as billions in government stimulus that are being allocated globally to the cleantech sector over the next several quarters. Additionally, new climate and energy legislation from governments worldwide and the upcoming Copenhagen climate negotiations continue to be strong drivers of investment and innovation.”

“While venture investment in solar is down dramatically, utility investment in cleantech is up. Solar thermal was the leading energy source procured through power purchase agreements in the first half of 2009,” said Scott Smith, U.S. leader of Deloitte’s Cleantech practice. “New investment tax credits are playing a major role in making new solar thermal, solar PV, and wind projects more economically viable for utilities, which are bringing their access to capital to the sector.”

BY TECHNOLOGY SECTOR
The leading sector in the quarter was transportation—specifically, vehicles, biofuels and advanced batteries—reflecting attention on the automotive sector and significant government stimulus. Meanwhile, solar saw its lowest level of investment in over three years, with only $114 million invested, down from a high of $1.2 billion invested in 3Q08, as most investors, whose portfolios contain significant solar holdings, did not increase their exposure. The largest transactions in each technology sector were:

* VEHICLES - $236 million
Deals included San Diego startup V-Vehicle’s raise of $100 million to date from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and T. Boone Pickens to build a fuel-efficient car in Louisiana, EV manufacturer Fisker Automotive, which raised $85 million from Eco-Drive Partners and Kleiner Perkins to fund development and manufacturing of its Karma plug-in hybrid, Norwegian EV startup Think Global which raised $39 million, and Israel’s ETV Motors which raised $12 million from Quercus Trust to develop an electric powertrain.
* BIOFUELS - $206 million
Deals included agri.capital, a European developer of biogas plants, which raised $82 million from TCW Group and others and renewable oil producer Solazyme, which raised $57 million from Braemar Energy Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners and new investor VantagePoint Venture Partners.
* ADVANCED BATTERIES - $165 million
Deals included lithium-ion startup A123, which raised a $100 million round led by GE and others, and Deeya Energy, which raised $30 million from Technology Partners and others to develop its redox flow batteries.
* SOLAR - $114 million
Deals included Indian solar developer Cobol Technologies, which raised $30 million from Pangea Capital, as well as CSP technology provider Ausra, which raised $25.5 million from Khosla Ventures and Kleiner Perkins, among others. Another CSP company, Stirling-engine dish vendor Infinia, raised $14.1 million in convertible debt, as part of a $50 million planned raise.

M&As AND IPOs
Clean technology M&A totaled an estimated 138 transactions in 2Q09, of which totals were disclosed for 40 transactions totaling $12.2 billion. This is up 291 percent from 1Q09, which saw 123 M&A transactions, of which 28 were disclosed for a total of $3.1 billion.
Cleantech Group noted two cleantech IPOs in 2Q09: China Metal Recycling began trading on the Hong Kong Futures Exchange, raising $186 million, and Duoyuan Global Water Inc. listed on the NYSE raising $88 million. Another notable transaction was Broadwind Energy’s transfer of shares from OTC-BB to the NASDAQ on April 9th.

BY GEOGRAPHY
North America accounted for 66 percent of the total, while Europe and Israel accounted for 21 percent, India for11 percent, and China for one percent.

* EUROPE: European and Israeli companies raised USD $259 million in 30 disclosed rounds, down 13 percent from 1Q09 and down 17 percent from 2Q08. Energy Generation ($130.5 million, 11 deals) companies received the most investment, followed by Transportation ($51.0 million, 2 deals). The largest deal was German biogas plant developer agri.capital which raised $81.7 million and helped Germany ($95.4 million, two deals) gain the top position in the country rankings in Europe. The UK was second ($55.4 million, 13 deals), and Norway ($39.0 million, one deal) was third, thanks to Think Global's $39 million round, the second largest deal of the quarter.
* CHINA: There were six cleantech VC deals totaling USD $18 million in China. Advanced battery technologies raised USD $10 million to develop lithium-ion batteries. Hunan Joyfly New Material attracted USD $4.3 million to develop environmental friendly materials.
* INDIA: Indian cleantech companies raised USD $131 million in seven investment rounds (of which one deal amount was not disclosed), an increase of 167 percent from the previous quarter and up 161 percent from the same period last year. The largest deal was a USD $42 million round for Hyderabad-based Ramky Enviro Engineers which specializes in recycling and waste. The most active investor was IL&FS (Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Limited) which invested in two deals. Other investors in the quarter included Blue Run Ventures, DFJ, Mumbai Angels, New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and Axis Private Equity.

TOP INVESTORS

2Q09 Most Active Cleantech Venture Funds
Venture Capital Firm - # of rounds Companies
Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers - 5 - Agnion Energy, Ausra, Fisker Automotive, V-Vehicle, Zettacore
Khosla Ventures - 4 - Ausra, Cello Energy, HCL Clean tech, Transonic Combustion
Braemar Energy Ventures - 4 - Fulham, Nuventix, OPX Biotechnologies, Solazyme
Robeco Alternative Investments - 3 - AWS Eco Plastics, EPS Corporation, Turbine Air Systems
Draper Fisher Jurveston -3 - Glycos Biotechnologies, Deeya Energy, Zettacore
VantagePoint Venture Partners - 3 - Alertme, Solazyme, Tendril Networks
Source: Cleantech Group

PSE&G to Expand Energy Efficiency Programs, 190 m$

Approval of $190 million program expected to create about 700 green jobs

Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G) today received approval to invest an additional $190 million to bring energy efficiency measures to residential customers, multi-family affordable housing units, municipal buildings and businesses such as cash-strapped hospitals. Approved by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, the Energy Efficiency Economic Stimulus Program is expected to also boost the economy by creating an estimated 688 "green" utility and contractor jobs during the next two years.

This latest energy efficiency initiative expands a $46 million carbon abatement program, approved in November 2008, that has been offering energy audits, programmable thermostats, attic insulation and high-efficiency lighting upgrades to residents and businesses.

In addition to bringing these conservation benefits to more customers, this newest program increases the amount of dollars available to help hospitals in PSE&G's service territory take advantage of investment-grade audits and steps to reduce their energy use and expenses. Twenty-eight hospitals have already indicated interest in the program. About a dozen hospitals - including University Hospital in Newark, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center in Paterson and Princeton Healthcare in Princeton -- are in the process of undergoing investment-grade audits. Another eight will be scheduled as soon as the additional funding becomes available. About 290 of the estimated 688 jobs are expected to be created by the hospital work.

"This program is the latest step PSE&G has taken to boost energy efficiency, reduce greenhouse gases and create new green jobs," said Ralph LaRossa, president and COO of PSE&G. "Customers who are struggling in this tough economy are already saving money by using less energy. And just as we are doing with our accelerated capital infrastructure investments, this stimulus initiative will bring new jobs to the state when they are needed most." During the next year, PSE&G and its contractors pledge to hire at least 100 graduates of the state's Green Job Training Program, which is overseen by the NJ Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

The Energy Efficiency Economic Stimulus Program was filed under New Jersey's Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) legislation, which encourages utilities to invest in conservation and energy efficiency programs as part of its regulated business. The plan approved today was the result of an agreement PSE&G reached with BPU staff, Department of the Public Advocate and the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency.

The new expanded energy efficiency initiative offers programs for various targeted customer segments. Sub-programs for residential homes and small businesses in Urban Enterprise Zone municipalities, multi-family buildings, hospitals, data centers and governmental entities provides audits at no cost to identify energy efficiency measures. Customers could be eligible for incentives toward the installation of the energy efficiency measures. Other components of the stimulus include a program that provides funding for new technologies and demonstration projects, and a program to encourage non-residential customers to reduce energy use through improvements in the operation and maintenance of facilities.

The Board's decision will allow recovery of the investment through an energy-based charge. The average residential electric customer, who uses 6,960 kilowatthours annually, will pay $2.60 per year. The average residential gas heating customer, using 1,210 therms of natural gas annually, will pay $3.10 per year.

REEEP provides seed funding for clean energy projects

REEEP softens financial crisis for renewables and energy efficiency in the developing world

The Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) has provided € 667,500 in seed funding for eight new finance projects to accelerate the clean energy market in the developing world. Piloting innovative finance methods is one of the Vienna-based NGO’s key priorities in its small-scale project funding, designed to have a wide ripple effect.

Microfinance facilities are a way to open up access to energy services for the rural poor. REEEP will work in Uganda to help microfinance institutions (MFIs) to establish small businesses selling solar, biogas and high-efficiency cookstoves, and to provide loans to 5000 consumers who buy them. In parallel, another REEEP project will help establish a network of retail outlets to sell energy-efficient CFLs, pressure cookers, stoves and solar lanterns in villages of the Indian state of Karnataka, and structure guarantees with MFIs to provide financing to end users.

A successful microfinance mechanism is PFAN (Private Financing Advisory Network), a finance coaching and investor matchmaking service that works well in many developing markets as well as India and China. A new REEEP project will expand PFAN activities to Uganda and Mozambique, and aim to attract between $10-60 million of funding to clean energy projects in those two countries during its first year.

Establishing microfinancing systems on the islands of Fiji, Vanuatu and Samoa over the next 15 months is the aim of the PREM (Pacific Renewable Energy and Microfinance) project. It kicks off with a baseline study on renewables and energy efficiency in these countries, and following this, a set of training tools will be created to assist MFIs in developing their own sustainable loan products.

In Brazil, REEEP will target the agricultural sector in a project combining international and local sources of financing to make solar water pumps for irrigation, solar dryers for fruits, and bio-digestors for agricultural waste available to small farmers.

With microfinancing at one end of the spectrum, other REEEP projects will aim to unlock the potential of large-scale investment in renewables. Institutional investors such as pension funds, insurance companies, and savings and investment banks see high risks associated with the emerging markets and with renewable energy. A REEEP project will seek to develop risk mitigation strategies and financing products through intermediaries such as E+Co, to attract these major players to the renewables market.

In a similar vein, REEEP has also provided funding for the establishment of a Public-Private Mezzanine Finance facility for renewable energy projects in Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt. A shortage of investor equity capital and government subsidies are barriers to project financing renewable energy projects in the region. Mezzanine finance is a ‘quasi-equity’ structure that could help alleviate the current lack of developer equity.

Finally, a REEEP project together with the China Development Bank will develop new financial tools and risk mitigation instruments for renewable energy project finance, and help build a network of market-based banks interested in renewable energy project finance.

“We are convinced that targeted interventions like these will help to mobilise funding for renewables and energy effiency in the emerging markets,” said Marianne Osterkorn, Director General of REEEP.
http://www.reeep.org

SunPower, Wells Fargo Team to Finance $100 Million in Solar Projects

First Projects with University of California, Merced and Western Riverside County Regional Wastewater Authority

Wells Fargo and SunPower Corp. today announced a new collaborative effort to fund up to $100 million in SunPower commercial-scale solar systems.

Under the financing program, SunPower will enter into power purchase agreements with qualified customers and Wells Fargo will finance the solar power systems that SunPower will design, build, operate, and maintain. Customers hosting the systems will buy the electricity from SunPower at prices that are competitive with retail rates, providing them with a long-term hedge against rising power prices and the ability to take advantage of the environmental and financial benefits of solar power with no initial capital investment.

"We see increasing opportunities over the next several years to support renewable energy markets," said Barry Neal, director of Wells Fargo's Environmental Finance. "By teaming up with SunPower, we intend to support growth in the solar energy market by making it easier and more affordable for businesses and public entities to benefit from solar electricity today."

The first projects financed under the program include a 1.1-megawatt system for University of California, Merced, and a 1-megawatt system for the Western Riverside County Regional Wastewater Authority. Scheduled for completion by year end, both will be ground-mounted systems using the patented SunPower(R) T20 Tracker technology, which follows the sun throughout the day and delivers up to 30 percent more energy than fixed-tilt ground systems.

"SunPower offers high performance solar technology and financing expertise that helps customers maximize savings on their electricity expenditures. Our relationship with Wells Fargo strengthens our project finance efforts, streamlining the implementation of clean, renewable solar power for SunPower's large commercial and public customers throughout the U.S.," said Mac Irvin, managing director of SunPower's structured finance group.

SunPower has more than 500 large public and commercial solar power systems installed or under contract, representing more than 400 megawatts. The company pioneered the use of solar power purchase agreements in 2000.

Wells Fargo has provided more than $1.75 billion in financing for renewable energy projects since 2006. That includes funding for 27 wind projects, more than 150 commercial-scale solar projects and 1 utility-scale solar thermal project.

Obama Administration Launches New Energy Efficiency Efforts

Will save billions for consumers, business while helping to create new jobs and strengthen American competitiveness

WASHINGTON - Building on the action by the U.S. House of Representatives in passing historic legislation that will pave the way for the transition to a clean energy economy, President Barack Obama and U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced aggressive actions to promote energy efficiency and save American consumers billions of dollars per year. Today's announcement underscores how the clean energy revolution not only makes environmental sense, but it also makes economic sense - creating jobs and saving money.

"One of the fastest, easiest, and cheapest ways to make our economy stronger and cleaner is to make our economy more energy efficient," said President Obama. "That's why we made energy efficiency investments a focal point of the Recovery Act. And that's why today's announcements are so important. By bringing more energy efficient technologies to American homes and businesses, we won't just significantly reduce our energy demand; we'll put more money back in the pockets of hardworking Americans."

"When it comes to saving money and growing our economy, energy efficiency isn't just low hanging fruit; it's fruit lying on the ground," said Secretary Chu. "The most prosperous, competitive economies of the 21st century will be those that use energy efficiently. It's time for America to lead the way."

More Energy Efficient Lighting

Today's announcement includes major changes to energy conservation standards for numerous household and commercial lamps and lighting equipment. Seven percent of all energy consumed in the U.S. is for lighting.

The final rule has numerous benefits, including:

* Avoiding the emission of up to 594 million tons of CO2 from 2012 through 2042 - roughly equivalent to removing 166 million cars from the road for a year;
* Saving consumers $1 to $4 billion annually from 2012 through 2042;
* Saving enough electricity from 2012 through 2042 to power every home in the U.S. for up to 10 months;
* Eliminating the need for up to 7.3 gigawatts of new generating capacity by 2042 - equivalent to as many as 14 500MW coal-fired power plants;
* Decreasing the electricity used in GSFLs by 15%, saving consumers up to $8.66 per lamp over its lifetime; decreasing electricity used by IRLs by 25%, saving consumers $7.95 per lamp over its lifetime.

In February 2009, President Obama tasked the Department of Energy with quickening the pace of energy conservation standards for appliances, while continuing to meet legal and statutory deadlines. Today's announcement - which takes effect in 2012 - focuses on General Service Fluorescent Lamps (GSFL), which are commonly found in residential and commercial buildings, and Incandescent Reflector Lamps (IRL), which are commonly used in recessed and track lighting. These fluorescent and incandescent lamps represent approximately 38 and 7 percent of total lighting energy use respectively.

The final rule, as issued by the Secretary of Energy on June 26, 2009, can be viewed and downloaded from the Office Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's website.

Building Efficiency Initiative

President Obama and Secretary Chu today announced a $346 million investment from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to expand and accelerate the development, deployment, and use of energy efficient technologies in all major types of commercial buildings as well as new and existing homes.

Residential and commercial buildings consume 40 percent of the energy and represent 40 percent of the carbon emissions in the United States. Building efficiency represents one of the easiest, most immediate and most cost effective ways to reduce carbon emissions while creating new jobs. With the application of new and existing technologies, buildings can be made up to 80 percent more efficient or even become "net zero" energy buildings with the incorporation of on-site renewable generation.

Today's buildings consume more energy than any other sector of the U.S. economy, including transportation and industry. In addition, almost three-quarters of our nation's 81 million buildings were built before 1979. Some were designed and constructed for limited service, and many will eventually require either significant retrofits or replacement.

Innovations in energy-efficient building envelopes, equipment, lighting, daylighting, and windows, in conjunction with advances in passive solar, photovoltaic, fuel cells, advanced sensors and controls and combined heating, cooling, and power, have the potential to dramatically transform today's buildings. These technologies-coupled with a whole building design approach that optimizes the interactions among building systems and components-will enable tomorrow's buildings to use considerably less energy, while also helping to reduce emissions and increase energy security.

This funding includes:

Advanced Building Systems Research ($100 million)
These projects will address research focused on the systems design, integration, and control of both new and existing buildings. Buildings need to be designed, built, operated, and maintained as an integrated system in order to achieve the potential of energy efficient and eventually net zero-energy buildings. These projects will move beyond component-only driven research and address the interactions in buildings as a whole, in order to progress development of integrated, high performance buildings and achieve net zero- energy buildings.

Residential Buildings Development and Deployment ($70 million)
Expanded work in Residential Buildings will increase homeowner energy savings by supporting energy efficient retrofits and new homes while raising consumer awareness of the benefits of increased health, safety, and durability of energy efficiency. The projects will provide technical support to train workers and create jobs, developing a new workforce equipped to improve the Nation's homes and will permit a major initiative to provide builders with technical assistance and training through states, utilities, and existing programs to increase the market share of new homes achieving substantial whole house energy savings. To address existing homes, DOE will work with municipalities with a variety of housing types and vintages as well as subdivisions with similar housing stock to encourage a large number of energy efficiency retrofits.

Commercial Buildings Initiative ($53.5 million)
These Recovery Act funds will be used to accelerate and expand partnerships with major companies that design, build, own, manage, or operate large fleets of buildings and that commit to achieving exemplary energy performance. This funding will be used to expand the number of these partnerships from 23 to about 75 through a competitive process beginning in September, 2009.

Buildings and Appliance Market Transformation ($72.5 million)
In order to achieve energy savings, and ultimately lead to zero energy buildings, the marketplace must be conditioned to accept the necessary advanced technologies and activities and ensure that the current technologies are performing as intended via current energy efficiency standards. Key activities include expanding ENERGY STAR to accelerate development of energy efficient products and expand the ENERGY STAR brand into new areas; preparing the design, construction, and enforcement community to implement commercial building energy codes that require a 30 percent improvement in energy efficiency over the 2004 code in 2010; and accelerating and expanding DOE's Appliance Standards program to evaluate innovative technologies and develop new test procedures that are more representative of today's energy use and equipment.

Solid State Lighting Research and Development ($50 million)
The objective of the solid state lighting activities is to advance state-of-the-art solid-state lighting (SSL) technology and to move those advancements more rapidly to market through a coordinated development of advanced manufacturing techniques. This project will both aid in the development and reduce the first cost of high performance lighting products. Continuing advances can accelerate progress towards creating a U.S.-led market for high efficiency light sources that save more energy, reduce costs, and have less environmental impact than other conventional light sources.

Read more information on these and other Funding Opportunities under the Recovery Act.

12 Semi-Finalists Chosen in Pacific Northwest Clean Tech Open

Teams to complete summer entrepreneur “boot camp” to finalize business plan for regional finals

At a event held last week at Puget Sound Energy (PSE) in Bellevue, Wash., the Pacific Northwest region of the Clean Tech Open (CTO), an innovation catalyst that helps great ideas become viable clean tech businesses, announced the 12 semi-finalists out of a field of 56 initial competitors in its clean tech business plan competition. The teams will compete for three regional prizes of up to $50,000 in cash and in-kind services as well as for one national prize of up to $250,000 in cash and services. Semi-finalists will now receive focused, hands-on mentoring from local and national business leaders to hone their clean tech business plans in preparation for the regional finals in September.

Given its nationally recognized Green Power Program, its ongoing regional leadership in the advancement of energy efficiency and the development of renewable energy, and its Silver-level sponsorship of CTO, PSE was a logical venue for the ceremony.
“We are dedicated to fostering innovation in clean technology,” said Stephen P. Reynolds, president and CEO of PSE.

The region’s semi-finalists represent several distinct clean tech categories including energy storage, solar power, small-scale solar, wind and hydro, transportation and renewable chemicals. The entire geography of the Pacific Northwest region is represented in the semi-finalist group including eight teams from Washington, three from Oregon and one from Idaho. The 2009 Pacific Northwest region semi-finalists include:

- Clarian Technologies - Smart-grid enabled wind and solar appliances, Seattle, Wash.
Extreme Caps - Energy storage, Olympia, Wash.
- GoNano - High surface area nanomaterials for energy storage, Moscow, ID
- Green Lite Motors – 100 mpg commuter car/motorcycle vehicle, Portland, Ore.
- Hydrovolts - In-stream hydro turbines, Seattle, Wash.
- InnovaTek – Renewable hydrogen fuel cell technology, Richland, Wash.
- LivinGreen Materials - Advanced solar technology, Seattle, Wash.
- NHThree - Green anhydrous ammonia production, Richland, Wash.
- Pangreen - Mobile and web-based platforms enabling green living, Kirkland, Wash.
- Shorepower Technologies – Electric charging stations, Portland, Ore.
- Soluxra - Low-cost organic solar cells, Seattle, Wash.
- Veranda Solar - Plug and play solar appliances, Portland, Ore.

The 12 semi-finalist teams will now participate in the CTO Accelerator program where they will be given training and experience in all aspects of starting and sustaining their businesses from national experts in venture capital, business, law, marketing and sustainability. All contestants can continue to be involved in the CTO community, having access to networking events, business tools, and other mentorship opportunities.

“The quality of entries was so high that we feel any of these 12 semi-finalists could be the regional, or even national winner,” said John Pierce, co-chair of the CTO Pacific Northwest chapter, member, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and one of the leaders of its Renewable Energy and Clean Tech Practice. “These entrepreneurs and more than 30 volunteer mentors are anxious to get to work and turn these clean tech ideas into successful businesses.”

http://www.cleantechopen.com/

U.S. Companies’ Continued Investments in Energy Efficiency Good For Business, Say Corporate Execs on Capitol Hill Panel

Green Initiatives Curb Carbon Emissions, Create Jobs, Help Sustain Planet

U.S. companies are continuing to invest in energy efficiency and to incorporate sustainable practices that will lower their future carbon emissions while creating jobs and helping their own bottom lines, corporate executives told a Capitol Hill gathering today. These measures are part of the companies’ overall efforts to help the nation regain its economic footing, according to executives and energy efficiency advocates addressing the topic, Corporate Sustainability, The Environment and Economic Recovery - Investing for the Future. The panel discussion was sponsored by the Alliance to Save Energy and the Committee for Economic Development (CED).

Panelists included Rep. Zach Wamp (R-Tenn.) of the House Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus and an Alliance Board honorary vice-chair; Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) of the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition and also an Alliance honorary vice-chair; David Gardiner, senior advisor with the UN Foundation Energy Coalition; Charlene Lake, AT&T Chief Sustainability Officer; Curtis Etherly, vice president of public affairs for Coca-Cola Enterprises; Alliance President Kateri Callahan; and CED President Charles Kolb.

The panelists discussed the innovative approaches that leading companies are taking to incorporate eco-friendly policies that save energy, lower energy waste and create new jobs while contributing to economic and environmental sustainability for years to come.

“As we all work towards a sustainable, healthy economy, it is clear that cost-effective energy efficiency measures are the keys to both improving a company’s bottom line and reducing its carbon footprint,” said Callahan. “Today’s discussion leaves no doubt that lowering energy use and costs are winning strategies for business and for the planet. We commend the companies represented here for their efforts towards long-term sustainability.”

“CED is dedicated to promoting sustained economic growth and development to benefit all Americans,” said CED President, Charlie Kolb. “The companies here today have shown great leadership in their commitment to investing in green initiatives, and we will continue to see more jobs created as a result.”

“AT&T has long been committed to social progress, economic growth and environmental stewardship, with a long history of strengthening the communities in which we live and work,” said Charlene Lake. “We are working to minimize our own environmental impact and are providing our customers with products and services that enable them to minimize their own environmental impacts.”

“At Coca-Cola Enterprises, we’ve fully integrated Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability into our business,” said Etherly. “Particularly in our environmental focus areas of water stewardship, energy conservation/climate change, and sustainable packaging/recycling, we are investing in technology that will help us capture operational efficiencies, drive effectiveness and eliminate waste, while simultaneously protecting the environment.”