Tesla wants $400 million loan from US Govt.
Nov 21, 2008 Auto Tech
Tesla Motors has applied for about $400 million of a $25 billion government loan package designed to help automakers produce more efficient vehicles and meet new fuel economy standards.Tesla currently makes an electric sports car called Roadster, which has sold about 60 and an order book of about 1000.
Diarmuid O’Connell, Tesla’s VP of corporate development, revealed the amount in an interview with peHUB Wednesday, less than three weeks after CEO Elon Musk declared a $40 million round of convertible-debt financing “significantly more than we need.” According to O’Connell, Tesla would use the direct loans for two projects: a new battery manufacturing operation, and a delayed mass-market sedan, now called the Model S. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: AFS Trinity Power, Government bailoiut, Startups, Tesla Motors
Azure Power of India raises Series A funds
Nov 19, 2008 Startups
peHub reports that Azure Power, a solar power producer in India, has raised an undisclosed amount of Series A funding from Helion Venture Partners and Foundation Capital. Azure Power is a solar IPP (Independent Power Producer) with a diverse range of solar power projects. It has several grid and off-grid projects under development across several states in India.The investment will be directed towards scaling-up its operations .
With India setting ambitious targets for power generation capacity addition during its 11th Five year plan and with the coal shortage faced by its power plants till recently, renewable energy should be a no-brainer. Especially when the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline deal is yet to be sealed and energy imports have caused a bulging current account deficit for the country.
Suzlon, the world’s fifth largest maker of wind tubines is from India as well.
Tags: Azure Power, India, Solar Energy, Startups, Suzlon
Recycle your phone — properly!
Nov 13, 2008 Startups
Flipswap
After the recent expose by CBS about the horrors of e-waste handling, cheer comes with the news that Flipswap, an innovative mobile phone recycling startup has secured $14 million in funding.Rather than throwing away your old cell or tuck it away in a dark niche, why not trade it in for some cash and some good for the environment? Flipswap it!
Here is how it works: Flipswap estimates an item’s worth based off of the item’s condition and the current market demand. Flipswap focuses almost entirely on cell phone handsets, allowing them to offer payouts on a wider array of makes and models. They can’t offer up cash for every old cell phone, but even if they can’t pay you for a device, they’ll recycle it for free (pre-paid envelope included) and plant a tree in your name. A nice gesture! Read the rest of this entry »
Absurd laws ground Canadian carpool startup
Nov 13, 2008 Stars, Policy and Finance, Startups
PickupPal
An archaic rule and strong interest groups have foiled a great startup idea in Canada. Pickuppal, which helps people to carpool and save gas has lost a case that will severely constrain its services.
PickUpPal provides a venue for either passengers or packages to find or be matched to a driver. An intelligent matching algorithm matches passengers with drivers traveling to a similar location, through a similar route.Passengers submit where they want to travel and drivers submit where they will be going. Those going the same way are matched together, and the passenger chooses a driver based on price and driver feedback ratings.
The bus companies felt threatened and sued under an Ontario law that limits carpoolers to traveling only from home to work and back, riding with the same driver every day and paying only by the week, among other restrictions! Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Canada, Carpooling, Clean energy, Startups
ENN of China secures $136 millions for new solar cell factory
Nov 8, 2008 Green Technologies
ENN Solar
Chinese thin-film solar developer ENN Solar has got funded by International Finance Corp (IFC), which is part of the World Bank, investing in developing countries. The IFC announced yesterday that it will arrange for up to $136 million in financing for the solar company, saying it’s aiming to help drive down prices for solar power with this latest deal.
ENN Solar is part of the XinAo Group, a natural gas company The company plans to use amorphous silicon at its first plant in Langfang, which will be able to pump out 60 megawatts of solar photovoltaic modules per year when it’s complete; ENN plans to eventually expand that to 500 MW of capacity.
The IFC said the equipment for ENN Solar’s plant is still being installed, and the first commercial production is scheduled for the second quarter of 2009.
So how is thin film solar cells different from traditional ones? Read on! Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: China, green energy, Solar Energy, Startups
Green Startups from Web 2.0 conference
Nov 7, 2008 Startups
The ongoing Web 2.0Summit 2008 saw exciting pitches by many startups. Few were green technology based — one amongst them, covered by DoNoBad recently!
Here is the list:
GoodGuide claims “providing the world’s largest and most reliable source of information on the health, environmental, and social impacts of the products in your home.” Read more about it here.
CarbonNetworks is an emissions management software that allows companies to effectively keep track of their emissions and monetize them. The site offers price forecasting which enables companies to decide if their carbon
credits will be financial asset or liabilities, and helps them deal with them accordingly. It also looks at different sources or energy and offers consulting services.
Sungevity sells solar panels to consumers using an online platform that can expedite and simplify the installation process. Sungevity uses services like Google Earth and Microsoft Virtual Earth to look at rooftops and give near-instant price quotes. The company claims to be 10% cheaper than the average solar panel installer in California. The company has been there since April 2008, and has projected revenues of $2.5 million. In the future the site hopes to license the technology out to other solar panel installers around the world.
Exciting times ahead! Keep an eye for more startups…..
GoodGuide — a startup to rate safety of things you buy
Nov 6, 2008 Startups
Good Guide
A new web startup. GoodGuide has launched with the claims of “providing the world’s largest and most reliable source of information on the health, environmental, and social impacts of the products in your home.” So you get to know if the product has any carcinogenic content, whther it has been banned anywhere and so on. For those pressed for time, there are ratings in 1-10 scale.
GoodGuide has collected information about 60,000 personal care products. The company plans to include not only more products but different types as well. And they have launched a free Iphone App for your convenience as well. Read the rest of this entry »