Dallas Kachan's blog

What do new strategic messages from solar manufacturer SunPower (NASDAQ: SPWR) suggest about its future direction?

At an investor conference today in San Francisco, SunPower CEO Tom Werner prefaced a corporate presentation with the suggestion that those familiar with the company would hear things in a slightly different wrapper.

For those who wonder what CO2-to-algae looks like close up, there was a demonstration system at this week's Burning Man festival.

New uses for old colostomy bags?

The Chlorophyll Collective—a loose affiliation of scientists and industry types that's trying to assemble algae information, Unix "open source"-style—assembled the demonstration to take the exhaust discharge from an electrical generator at Burning Man and use it to foster the growth of algae.

It's the end of an era.

We hope we look this good when we're 84.

Energy Conversion Devices (NASDAQ: ENER) today announced after market close that Stanford R. Ovshinsky, its co-founder, principal inventor, chief scientist and technologist, will retire as an active employee and director of the company effective August 31, 2007.

Tech giant Google—wealthy enough to have resources to pursue environmental leadership in whatever obscure place it may—has taken an odd step.

It has introduced a black background version of its search engine.

Yes, it's the same old Google. Just on black, instead of white.

Why?

A study from back in 2002 found that cathode ray tube (CRT) monitors expend significantly less energy to display black than white or other colors.

Ultracapacitor maker Maxwell Technologies (NASDAQ: MXWL) has a new capo this morning.

The company announced today that CEO Richard D. Balanson is moving to become a part-employee and function as a senior technical advisor.

In today's announcement, Balanson gave the ol' "we're at an inflection point" statement, followed up with the venerable "it's now time for someone else to guide the company through the next phase of its growth and development."

Balanson had been at the post since 1999.

The company is trading at $14.55 this morning, down significantly from $22.21 a year ago.

It doesn't end with driving up the price of food (and beer).

The latest casualty of America's rush to corn-based ethanol appear to be shrimp and other marine life in the Gulf of Mexico.

The seasonal dead zone caused by nitrogen fertilizer runoff down the Mississippi from the American heartland has about doubled in size since scientists began studying it in 1985.

This year, with the amount of land put into corn production for ethanol, it's expected to be even worse, according to researchers.

Taking a cue from similar biodiesel directories (see Need biodiesel? Try NEEDBIO.com), electric car maker ZAP (OTCBB: ZAAP) today introduced a new electric car charging outlet finder.

Owners of electric cars can find and report the location of public and private charging outlets at www.pluginmap.org.

So many people are unconvinced about U.S. Sustainable Energy Corporation (PINKSHEETS: USSE) and the claims it makes about its fuel (oh, say, for instance, see Is cellulosic startup full of beans?) that it's news when someone comes forward to sing the company's praises as emphatically as has State Senator Bob M. Dearing of Mississippi, the home state of USSE.

USSE is now sharing a letter from Senator Dearing to USSE CEO John Rivera, which, in part, reads:

Is it a watershed in our industry? Or just bad management?

Media company O'Reill—best known for its IT books—has abandoned its planned energy industry conference.

Titled "Energy Innovation" and scheduled for August 22nd through 24th in San Francisco, the conference has been "postponed," organizers admitted to the Cleantech Group.

Indeed, the conference's website has been taken down and removed with a placeholder.

Registrations had been disappointing, the head of marketing intimated.

The world is full of vehicle speed records. 

But one, at least, has fallen to an ethanol-powered car.

An E85 (85 percent ethanol, 15 percent gasoline)-powered Viper has rocketed from a standstill to 220.7 MPH in one mile, taking 27.41 seconds at the Oscoda-Wurtsmith Airport in Oscoda, Michigan.

The previous standing mile record was 217.85 MPH, held by a gasoline powered street car.

"Going green does not have to mean going slow," said Karl Jacob, owner and self-described serial entrepreneur [ed.: are we the only ones who find sinister overtones in that term?]

The Indy Racing League, which includes the Indianapolis 500 race, switched completely to ethanol, starting with the 2007 season.