8 businesses get Energy Dept. grants

1 12 2009

Eight small companies from the state, including Wheat Ridge-based TDA Research, received grants from from the Energy Department, it was announced over the holiday weekend.





CoBiz profiles Envirofit International, CSU energy lab

24 11 2009

ColoradoBiz’s Mike Cote interviewed CSU professor Dr. Bryan Willson (also of Solix Biofuels) on CSU’s successful energy lab, profiling Envirofit International in the process.





Power Tagging gets $2 million smart grid grant

23 11 2009

Boulder-based smart-grid technology company Power Tagging received a $2 million grant from the National Science Foundation. The company plans to expand from five or six people to about 300 in the next three years, according to Ann Schrader of the Denver Post.





Markey wants renewable tax credit for utilities

23 11 2009

Rep. Betsy Markey (D-Fort Collins) has introduced a tax credit for utilities that increase their renewable energy usage. More information in The Coloradoan.





Clean tech VC: look for smart grid, cleaning fossil fuels

23 11 2009

The Denver Post’s Mark Jaffe has three questions for Daniel Goldman of Environmental Entrepreneurs and New Energy Capital Corp., a renewable energy-focused private equity fund.





RMSE wants your cooking oil

20 11 2009

Rocky Mountain Sustainable Enterprises once again will be collecting cooking oil after the Thanksgiving holiday. More information and locations here.





REpower USA signs turbine contract

19 11 2009

REpower USA, the U.S. subsidiary of a German wind turbine manufacturer, said this week it will make nine wind turbines for a Michigan wind farm. The company recently moved its headquarters to Denver and earlier this year announced plans to hire as many as 25 people in the area over the next year.





“Cash for Caulkers” forthcoming?

19 11 2009

If you liked Cash for Clunkers, you’ll love the sequel, a so-called “Cash for Caulkers” weatherization program that is gaining steam in D.C. and may be included in President Obama’s expected job-creation package in 2010. From the New York Times:

Most of the money would go for incentive payments, generally $2,000 to $4,000, for weatherization projects. The homeowner would always have to pay at least 50 percent of the project’s total cost. About $3 billion would be set aside for retailers and contractors in the hope that they would promote the program, much as car dealerships promoted cash for clunkers.





ZeaChem begins plant construction

18 11 2009

After announcing earlier this year that it had raised $34 million in a funding round, ZeaChem is starting construction of its wood-to-fuel plant in Oregon.





Coolerado honored by Popular Science

18 11 2009

Coolerado’s ultra-efficient air conditioner was listed in the “Best of What’s New 2009″ in Popular Science.