Wave Power Funding: Ireland’s Wavebob Raises Interim Round

Jennifer Kho on October 7, 2009

Wavebob_PICOcean power is managing to float forward during the recession, thanks in large part to government programs and to a lesser extent, private funding. The latest example is 10-year-old wave power company Wavebob, with CEO Andrew Parish telling us this week that it’s raised €3 million ($4.4 million) in a mix of equity funding and grants. Parish views the funds as an interim round that will give the Maynooth, Ireland-based company some breathing room as it works to raise a larger one (Business & Leadership reported that Wavebob was seeking €25 million back in June).

The smaller round is “a reflection of the current climate,” Parish said. “We started the year with the ambition to raise a lot of money and realized it was going to be difficult and expensive.” WaveBob plans to start raising another round of roughly $20 million in the first quarter of next year, by which time Parish predicts fundraising conditions will improve. For one thing, he expects stimulus funding for marine power to start flowing next year.
Read More about Wave Power Funding: Ireland’s Wavebob Raises Interim Round

Web Work 101: Wrap-up

Simon Mackie on March 4, 2009

Over the past few weeks we’ve been running a series of Web Work 101 posts. Whatever your reason for joining the growing ranks of  web workers — whether your new business means that you’re working from home for the first time, you’ve been laid off and are doing some freelancing, or you’ve just found that dream telecommuting job — I hope you found the posts useful.

Here’s a summary of all of the great posts in the series. Read More about Web Work 101: Wrap-up

Will Cali’s Latest Wave Power Project Sink or Sail With Regulators?

Josie Garthwaite on February 27, 2009

Wave energy seems a natural fit for coastal, cleantech-loving San Francisco. But while the technology has a big fan in Mayor Gavin Newsom — who blogs today on CleanTechnica about the city’s latest scheme to tap ocean energy eight miles off the city’s west coast — the buck stops with higher-up regulators.

PG&E (s PCG) and Finavera Renewables (s FVR) know the regulatory snags all too well. The companies had a deal to develop what would have been the country’s first commercial wave power project last year. But state commissioners decided the technology was too new and the prices too high for a viable project — and denied approval for the utility’s energy procurement contract.

golden-gateThis hasn’t discouraged Newsom. Having completed a wave power study, San Francisco submitted a preliminary application to federal regulators today for a permit to develop a 10 MW-30 MW project with potential to generate up to 100 MW. For comparison, the PG&E-Finavera deal that the Energy Commission shot down was for just 2 MW. Read More about Will Cali’s Latest Wave Power Project Sink or Sail With Regulators?

Daily Sprout

Josie Garthwaite on February 11, 2009

Finavera Forfeits Wave Power Permits: Finavera Renewables plans to give up its FERC license for two Pacific Coast wave energy pilot projects so it can focus on developing wind power in British Columbia and Ireland. — Energy Business Review

Can You Charge Me Now? Good: Evan Thornley of Better Place Australia breaks down the plan for Down Under in a detailed interview, and says the country will have 99.8 percent network coverage within two decades. — CNET Australia

Electric Cars to Be Made in China, Sold at Wal-Mart: Mexico-based GS Motors plans to sell China-made electric vehicles at big box retailers like Costco and Wal-Mart in the U.S. within five years. — Cleantech Group

Aliens Off the Hook for Turbine Damage: Remember the mysteriously snapped wind turbine we covered last month — the one that locals thought might have had something to do with a UFO? Turns out it was worn out bolts. — NYT’s Green Inc.

Cities Get Smart: A growing movement in Europe envisions futuristic “smart cities” — self-sufficient energy systems where construction firms (would rival power suppliers. — Reuters

Time Tracking Via the iPhone: 5 Apps Reviewed

on February 4, 2009

Videography is my chosen profession and I love it. However, no passion goes unscathed by inconvenience, regardless of how small. As a freelancer, I am constantly burdened with the need to track time for clients. Brian Warren a few days ago wrote a very in-depth article reviewing On The Job 3.0, an amazing program that I have used myself when at my desk. However I needed something that was a bit more portable when I’m out shooting or doing preparations and still need to keep track of my time.

This is when I turned to my iPhone (s aapl) as a solution for such a problem. While browsing for such an App I noticed that there were nearly enough time tracking apps on the iPhone that they can almost garner themselves their own category in the App store. After diligently browsing all of them, I narrowed my selection down to the five I would try out, and I tried each one for a few days before making my decision on which is best to fit my needs.

Bill4Time Mobile

2.5 stars / Free, $19.99 for an account
mzlmzpacaes100x100-75Key Features: SSL encrypted, integration with Quickbooks, and multiple pricing levels for invoicing purposes. Not to mention all of the typical features for an app such as this; and it is also free.

However Bill4Time comes with a few strings attached. This iPhone App is actually a mobile platform for the Bill4Time.com Web and Desktop application, which costs $19.99 per user. This was a solid app for me as far as potential features, however I did not need the Web variant of this application, and the $19.99 price tag didn’t help me decide in Bill4Time’s favor.
Read More about Time Tracking Via the iPhone: 5 Apps Reviewed

Finavera Turns to Wind After Wave Plan Washed Away

David Ehrlich on November 24, 2008

Finavera Renewables (s FVR), the Canadian company (s FVR) whose wave power plans were put on hold last month, said today it’s forging ahead with wind power with a bid to develop four wind energy projects in the province of British Columbia. The proposal includes C$800 million ($649.7 million) from GE Energy Financial Services.
The Vancouver, British Columbia-based renewable energy developer is submitting the bid to BC Hydro as part of the utility’s 2008 Clean Power Call. Finavera said it plans to build up to 295 megawatts of wind power in the province’s northeastern Peace region.
The costs for permitting, public consultation and environmental assessment certification for the four sites will be covered by Finavera. If BC Hydro agrees to buy power from the the projects, however, GE Energy Financial, a unit of General Electric (s GE), has an exclusive right to handle the financing for the construction of the wind farms.
Read More about Finavera Turns to Wind After Wave Plan Washed Away

Ocean Power Tech Seals $3M Navy Deal

Craig Rubens on November 6, 2008

The U.S. military is living up to its promise of leading the country in green energy adoption with the Navy’s awarding of a $3 million contract to marine power startup Ocean Power Technologies for ocean testing of an advanced version of the company’s autonomous PowerBuoy.

13 Startups Energized by Waves and Tides

Craig Rubens on September 18, 2008

A powerful and consistent sources of energy is lapping at our shorelines: the ocean. A number of startups are looking to harness its power. The British, Scottish and American governments have all offered up money for research and development in hydrokinetic energy generation, and slowly but surely startups are getting their feet wet in the world of wave and tidal energy.

Marine Current Turbines: The British startup boasts to have the world’s first and largest commercial-scale tidal turbine, its 1.2 MW SeaGen. The startup’s corporate shareholders and strategic partners include large European banks and utilities like EDF Energy, BankInvest and Northern Ireland Electricity.

Hydro Green Energy: The Houston, Texas-based startup told us it is planning to have a commercially operable hydrokinetic energy project in Mississippi River waters up and running in September and will sell power from the 250-kilowatt project to Xcel Energy. Once up and running, Hydro Green hopes to close a Series B round of funding in the neighborhood of $70 million. Hydro Green has also signed an agreement with Wind Energy Systems Technology Group to explore the development of a hybrid offshore wind-plus-hydrokinetic ocean current power project in the Gulf of Mexico. David Gelbaum’s Quercus Trust led the company’s $2.6 million Series A round in April this year.
Read More about 13 Startups Energized by Waves and Tides

What TiVo & Digg have in common?

Om Malik on February 19, 2007

In the early days when personal video recording was introduced by TiVo, many were enthralled by its seemingly elegant solution. The company charged quite a premium for its devices, and yet fostered a passionate community, dubbed Tivo-ted. In the years that followed, TiVo inspired a lot of, how should I put it politely, Xeroxes. Some are not even around, but the technology called PVR is now common place. Set-top box makers, open source downloads and OS makers have turned TiVo-type PVR into a commodity.

Does a similar fate await San Francisco-based Digg, the start-up behind the social news site of the same name?

Read More about What TiVo & Digg have in common?