Alternative Energy News

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

MassCEC, MTTC awards $120K for clean energy projects
The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center Catalyst Program, funded by MassCEC and Massachusetts Technology Transfer Center, has awarded $120,000 in clean energy research grants to three researchers from UMass Dartmouth, Tufts University and Northeastern University.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Energy Leaders Breakfast Club: Energy Leaders Breakfast Club: Green Communities Act, energy costs, and volatility
The Energy Leaders Breakfast Club engages in new dialogues by inviting some of the region's thought leaders for breakfast and conversation on issues in the clean energy sector. The following is a transcript of one of these meetings – on Green Communities Act, energy costs and volatility.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Clean energy firm MTPV raises $10M financing
MTPV closed a $10 million Series B funding round for the clean energy semiconductor chip company with offices in both Boston and Austin, Texas.

Monday, January 23, 2012

DOE reports: Maine could generate 10% of all tidal power
Maine has the potential to produce 10 percent of the nation's tidal power energy, or 15 terrawatt-hours of electricity per year, according to recent reports by the U.S. Department of Energy.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Conn. biomass project gets $225M in funding
The Plainfield Renewable Energy biomass project in Connecticut will receive $225 million for construction financing from Science Applications International Corp. and the Carlyle Energy Mezzanine Opportunities Group.

Thursday, December 29, 2011

A123's customer Fisker recalls cars for battery fix
In light of a potential battery defect announced by A123 Systems Inc. of Waltham, its customer Fisker Automotive Inc. is recalling some of its Karma electric vehicles, which uses a battery system made by A123.

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Boston-Power adds $30M funding to build China plant
Boston-Power Inc., a Westborough maker of next-generation lithium-ion batteries and systems, has landed an additional $30 million in new funding to add to the $125 million investment the company took in September.

Friday, December 9, 2011

Mascoma, Valero launch joint venture for biofuels plant
New Hampshire biofuels company Mascoma Corp. has entered into an agreement with partner and investors Valero Energy Corp. that fully funds the cellulosic ethanol facility the pair had been developing in Michigan.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Report: Ethanol hottest alternative fuel through 2015
Ethanol will be the dominant alternative fuel by 2015, according to a new report by Lux Research Inc., but the United States won’t be where development of it will grow the fastest.

Friday, November 18, 2011

Beacon Power devalues N.Y. plant by 77%
Just a couple of weeks into its bankruptcy process, Beacon Power Corp. has written down the value of its Stephentown, N.Y., energy storage plant as it moves toward a liquidation of its assets, according to court and regulatory documents filed this week.

Monday, October 31, 2011

AMSC shuts off The Switch purchase
The blows keep landing on Devens-based AMSC, the latest being that the company has called off its planned $265 million purchase of Finnish company The Switch Engineering Oy, saying it couldn’t raise the money in this tough economy.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Solar Decathlon: Learning about energy from the ground up
UMass Lowell PhD student Julianne Rhoads: For nearly two years, Team Massachusetts worked on the 4D Home, our entry into the 2011 U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon. We recently completed the competition, building a full-scale, solar-powered home in Washington, D.C.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

MIT touts recent clean energy breakthroughs
While MIT puts out its share of news on biotech, computers, advanced materials and other topics, this week, it's all about clean energy. The school is highlighting breakthrough technology in the areas of wind power, solar energy and zero-carbon options.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Mass. reports 64,000 work in clean energy
The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center today released its 2011 Clean Energy Industry Report, citing the growth of companies and employment in sectors such as renewable energy, energy efficiency, alternative transportation and carbon management.

Monday, October 10, 2011

Northern NH biomass plant begins construction
State and local officials were on hand for a groundbreaking ceremony at the site of a $275 million, 75 megawatt biomass power plant in the northern New Hampshire city of Berlin.

Monday, September 19, 2011

7AC Technologies takes $300K in debt funding
Woburn startup 7Solar Technologies, Inc. has taken in its first institutional funding and taken on a new name — 7AC Technologies Inc., according to a federal document.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Harvest Power acquires mulch maker
Waltham-based Harvest Power, which is focused on producing energy from organic supplies as well as soil and mulch products, has acquired Delaware-based soil and mulch manufacturer Coastal Supply Company Inc.
General Compression squeezes $6M more from backers
Newton energy storage firm General Compression Inc. has bumped its Series B round from an already impressive $54.5 million to a clean $60 million, federal documents show.

Friday, September 2, 2011

Harvest Power pulls in $1.25M in new funding
Harvest Power Inc., a biogas manufacturing company in Waltham, has raised $1.25 million of a targeted $2.25 million new funding round, according to a federal document.

Friday, August 19, 2011

Neptune Wind sites wind farm off the Mass., R.I. border
Winchester startup Neptune Wind LLC has made its plans for an offshore wind farm more clear, after announcing Thursday its intention to develop, construct and operate a 500 megawatt offshore wind farm about 20 miles south of the Massachusetts border with Rhode Island.