Renewable energy technologies have changed the landscape of the energy industry in a major way. However, because technologies like wind turbines and solar panels rely on nature to produce energy, they cannot work continuously. Today, innovators like the founders of our portfolio company, GELI, are developing ways to store energy to solve this problem. Below are recent articles highlighting the growth of energy storage and explaining the crucial role that energy storage will play … read more
Clean Energy Access
Last week, we addressed global energy access, looking at innovative solutions to solve energy poverty in emerging markets. However, the energy discussion cannot end there. Another major issue the world is facing is rapid climate change and the greenhouse gas emissions contributing to it. Neither energy poverty nor climate change can be addressed alone. The articles below highlight how the international community is coming to the realization that clean energy solutions have the potential to … read more
Power Africa Initiative Energy Developments
Momentum gathers in Power Africa initiative on BiztechAfrica
Standard Bank Group has renewed its commitment to the Power Africa Initiative, a multi-stakeholder project driven by US President Barack Obama. The Initiative aims to double power access in Africa by accelerating investments in the sector over the next five years.
The six initial partner countries are Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria and Tanzania. Each have set ambitious goals to boost their power generating capacity to enhance … read more
Off-Grid Energy Gaining Momentum
Here at ID, we are always excited to learn about innovative developments in the energy sector, specifically in off-grid technologies. In emerging markets especially, there is a real need for efficient, alternative energy products. The following articles detail recent some developments that will help to address this issue.
Calling all energy grid startups for this Hawaiian accelerator’s next program by Katie Fehrenbacher on GigaOm
Hawaii’s Energy Excelerator announced that it will soon be opening applications … read more
Wind Energy Advancements
Wind energy has been used for centuries to move ships, pump water, and grind grain. It’s now one of the most cost-effective sources of new generation, competing with new installations of coal, gas and nuclear power. We are always looking for innovative technologies that can resolve the energy access gap.
Wind power seen generating up to 18% of global power by 2050 on International Energy Agency
By 2050, wind power could generate up to 18% … read more
Clean Energy Advancements
This week we focused our reading on the benefits and use of clean energy. By 2030, the United Nations aims to double energy efficiency and renewable energy worldwide and declared this decade one of Sustainable Energy For All. Over 1.4 billion people lack access to basic electricity, 95% of which live in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. We are always looking for innovative technologies that can resolve the energy access gap.
Renewable Energy Technology
We are always looking out for our next investments for the BSP Fund. Here are some of the stories that caught our attention in the renewable energy field this week.
The green transformation is under way by Thomas Kerr and Brindusa Fidanza on World Economic Forum
Resource scarcity and climate change are becoming more prevalent issues for policymakers, including those at the recent World Economic Forum. Policymakers are aware of the need to implement … read more
Energy in Kenya and the Potential for Renewables
Kenya’s National Energy Policy is designed “to facilitate provision of clean, sustainable, affordable, reliable and secure energy services at least cost while protecting the environment.” The efforts come alongside a critical time for Kenya – economic growth and energy demand are higher than ever. The current supply, although increasing slowly, cannot keep up with demand. In response, the Kenyan government is using three policy tools to facilitate the adoption of renewable energy. The aim is … read more
Weekly Review July 28-August 3
In light of this week’s power crisis in India, our weekly review articles this week focus on the energy sector in India and the clean technology solutions available. Be sure to check out our post from earlier this year on the reality of the energy sector in India and the government’s mission to install 20 GW of solar by 2020.… read more
Can India Install 20 GW of Solar by 2020? Part 2
Last week we introduced the Jawaharlal Nehru Solar Mission and explained the reality of the energy situation in India. Will it be possible for India to reach the goal of 20GW of installed solar capacity by 2020? We built a model to test the feasibility, and today we’ll share our findings.… read more
Weekly Review January 15-21
The idea that renewable energy can increasingly meet the energy requirements of emerging markets at grid-parity is a regular topic of discussion. Both the public sector and the private sectors are searching for ways to meet global energy requirements while decreasing dependence on unsustainable source of energy. Instead of the global oil markets, the usual suspects, now the radical advances in solar cell efficiency, declining costs of raw materials, and large-scale strategic initiatives from both … read more
Weekly Review July 18 – 22
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| via unep.org |
With the release of “Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2011” from the UN Environment Program, many publications are lauding the $211 billion worth of global investment in renewable energy in 2010. The impact investing industry contributed to that number. This week, we looked at articles discussing the rising amounts of capital invested in clean tech and renewable energy, especially in developing countries.
Weekly Review June 13-17
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Every week at ID we read articles about what we do and what we like. This week we read a lot about innovation in energy.
“Dr. John A. Rogers awarded $500,000 Lemelson-MIT Prize for health and energy innovations” Press Release via Lemelson Foundation
Rogers received the Prize for his work in technology contributing to human health and, related to our investment focus, the commercialization and increased scalability of photovoltaic solar power. Rogers
… read more Weekly Review May 30-June 3
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Every week at ID we read as many articles as we can on our favorite industry topics. In searching for an alternative energy BETA Resident, we’re studying the types of innovative clean technology solutions out there. In addition to a great product or technology, innovative business models and applications of the technology inspire us and are the topic of this week’s Weekly Review.
Photo Credit: Port of San Diego under Creative Commons
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