Quench soaks up $30 million in funding for water filtration

Quench raised $30 million in funding to be spent on expansion plans. The Philadelphia-based firm makes water dispensers with built-in filtration systems that purify tap water from a building's existing water supply, instead of using five-gallon plastic jugs of purified water that need to be regularly replaced. Quench also uses stainless steel tanks and parts for holding and distributing the water, making the system a plastic-free taste and eliminates exposure to plastic toxins.

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G.E. provides turbines for eight wind sites of First Wind

Independent wind energy company First Wind chose technology giant General Electric to provide the company's entire fleet of 264 wind turbines at eight wind farms in the United States.

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D.O.E. OK’s $90-million backing to Cogentrix for Colorado project

The United States Department of Energy approved a $90.6-million loan guarantee to Cogentrix Energy, L.L.C. to support a 30-megawatt solar project in Alamosa, Colorado, which represents one of the first utility-scale, high concentration photovoltaic energy generation facilities in the nation. The project, estimated to generate up to 100 construction jobs, will use innovative HCPV systems consisting of concentrating optics and multijunction solar cell panels controlled by a dual-axis tracking system.

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Vega Biofuels to construct bio-coal plant in Georgia

Biofuel manufacturer Vega Biofuels, Inc. is set to begin construction of a bio-coal plant in Georgia that will produce green energy bio-coal from timber waste. According to the chairman and chief executive of Vega Biofuels, Michael K. Molen, the company is currently working on the design, construction and implementation of the facility.

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Solazyme revenues, losses both up as expansion planned

Algae oil company Solazyme, Inc. said both its second quarter revenues and losses were up after investing in new facilities in order to increase production following its successful initial public offering in May. The company managed to pull its revenues up to $7.4 million this quarter from 4.4 million in the same quarter a year ago.

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New York, HP, G.E. team up for renewable-powered data centers

Hewlett Packard, G.E. Global Research Center and other private partners are teaming up with the state of New York to launch a project that will demonstrate how a network of data centers powered by renewable energy could create new models for the data center industry and renewable energy operations.

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SolarCity to sell solar-powered electric car charges

SolarCity, Inc. has begun installing home electric car charging stations along with rooftop solar photovoltaic arrays for homeowners and businesses to make it easier and cheaper to charge them and be assured that the power came from a renewable energy source. The California-based firm will partner with electric vehicle charger manufacturer ClipperCreek Inc. to provide chargers fitted with SAE-J1772 cables.

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DuPont acquires silicon ink maker Innovalight

Chemical giant DuPont bought Innovalight Inc., a California-based startup that makes a black ink-like liquid that boosts the efficiency of crystalline silicon solar cells, for an undisclosed sum. Innovalight makes a black ink-like blend of chemicals with silicon nanoparticles. When applied to silicon solar cells during the manufacturing process, the ink is said to increase cells’ sunlight absorption by up to 19 percent.

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U.S. issues national strategy for electronic waste recycling

The United States government has secured the cooperation of technology, electronics and telecommunications giants Dell Inc., Sony Electronics and Sprint, as they issue a national plan for recycling electronic waste. The National Strategy for Electronics Stewardship was launched by the White House Council on Environmental Quality, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the General Services Administration with the executives of Dell, Sony, and Sprint in Austin, Texas on July 20.

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AWEA refutes Bentek Energy’s claims in U.S. wind power study

The American Wind Energy Association is refuting the findings of a recent study published by Bentek Energy that claimed the carbon cut by the wind energy sector was either minimal or too expensive. The United States wind group dismissed the results of the recently published Wind Power Paradox study which said that carbon reductions from wind farms in the region have too minimal an effect to be considered relevant and at too great a cost to consumers.

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