Share your cleantech news with us @GreentownLabs! This week, cleantech investment is a hot topic of discussion while blockchain and microgrids seem poised to transform the way we produce, consume, and pay for energy.
Sustainable Brands : Carbon Trust, World Bank Team Up to Combat Climate Change, One SME at a Time
The World Bank Group said it would invest about $6.4 trillion over the next 10 years in clean technology businesses. About a quarter of this amount will be set aside for the development of the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), especially for start-ups in emerging markets in the developing and third world countries like Nigeria.
Microgrid Knowledge : Blockchain Energy Trading: What the Future Holds
In Australia, Europe, and North America, energy companies are beginning to consider using blockchain technology for distributed-generation payments between small solar installations. A blockchain is a shared digital decentralized ledger that records transactions across a peer-to-peer network. Blockchain technology involves strong encryption.
Greentech Media : Siemens Joins the Growing Blockchain Bandwagon for Peer-to-Peer Energy Sales
Can blockchain help enable peer-to-peer transactions of renewable electrons? Siemens thinks so. By partnering with LO3 Energy, the industrial behemoth hopes to “make it possible for a provider of photovoltaic systems on the roofs of buildings in Brooklyn to feed its excess electricity back into the existing local grid and receive payments from the purchasers.”
Greentech Media : AEP Seeks $52 Million to Build Up to 10 Ohio Microgrids
The Columbus microgrids are to be installed at critical facilities, such as hospitals, shelters, water plants, grocery stores and gas stations. AEP intends to allow other nearby customers to connect to the on-site generation for a fee.
Clean Technology Business Review : European Commission Unveils Plans to Increase Clean Energy Use
The Clean Energy for All Europeans legislative proposals seek to put energy efficiency first, target global leadership in renewable energies and offer a fair deal for consumers. They cover energy efficiency, renewable energy, the design of the electricity market, security of electricity supply and governance rules for the Energy Union. The European Union already has plans to cut emissions of carbon dioxide by about 40% by 2030.
WaterWorld : Smart Water Pilot Projects in San Diego Receive Funding
As part of its Smart Cities and Water Solutions Grant Program, The San Diego Foundation has awarded a total of $160,000 ($80,000 each) in grant funding to Cleantech San Diego to support two public-private partnerships that catalyze adoption of smart cities technologies and help achieve measurable water and energy savings in the San Diego region. The two winning proposals that will support water technology deployments at the City of Solana Beach and the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority were selected from a pool of five applicants for their potential to make San Diego more drought resilient. Cleantech San Diego is a lead partner on both proposals, each of which will make use of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies for sustainable water management.
GreenBiz : Can Venture Capital Ever Propel Cleantech?
A July report by MIT Energy Initiative, “Venture Capital and Cleantech: The Wrong Model for Clean Energy Innovation (PDF),” has compared the performance of venture capital (VC) in the software, medical and cleantech sectors. The results showed VC is not the right model for investments in the cleantech sector. Public funding is crucial at the beginning of projects.
Investor Ideas : Here Comes the Sun: The Falling Price of Solar Power
As concerns about the effects of climate change have increased and the global economy has slowly began to shift away from fossil fuels, investments in solar power have ramped up and led to significant price drops. In fact, IBISWorld estimates that the average price of photovoltaic (PV) panels has been declining at an annualized rate of 4.4% during the past three years, with the price of solar panel installation falling at an estimated annualized rate of 14.2% during the same period.