Smart Energy News

San Carlos, Calif. – Tesla Motors, the San Carlos-based builder of high-performance electric cars, on Friday filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a planned initial public offering to raise an estimated $100 million.

Founded in 2003, Tesla last year began selling its first model, the “Roadster,” for just over $100,000. The car is capable of reaching 60 miles per hour in 3.8 seconds. Its range extends 244 miles on a full battery charge. read more »

Smyrna, Tenn. — The Department of Energy (DOE) has made a $1.4 billion loan to Nissan North America to retool the company’s Smyrna, Tennessee factory, where it plans to build all-electric LEAF model automobiles and an advanced battery manufacturing facility.

The two projects are expected to create up to 1,300 jobs in the U.S., according to DOE. read more »

Toronto – Invenergy Wind, a developer of large-scale renewable and other clean energy generation facilities, has obtained $179 million in financing from a syndicate led by Manulife Financial to build a 78-megawatt wind farm in western Ontario.

The project will consist of 52 General Electric 1.5xle wind turbine generators with 82.5 metre diameter rotors installed on 80 metre towers, according to an announcement. read more »

South San Francisco, Calif. – LS9, a privately held, venture capital-backed producer of renewable diesel fuel products, announced it has developed a microbe that produces fuels and chemicals in a single fermentation process without the need for additional chemical transformations.

The new microbe was developed by a team of researchers from LS9, the University of California at Berkeley, and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Joint BioEnergy Institute. read more »

Boston — Ambient Corp., a Boston-based maker of smart grid technology, announced on Wednesday that it has received about $10 million in new orders for its smart grid nodes, which act as a communication bridge, router or gateway on the electrical grid.

Ambient’s node is based on open standards and IP-based technology, providing a communications platform for both wired and wireless technologies. It can integrate with other smart grid devices, regardless of manufacturer or communication protocol, according to the company. The node is certified for deployment on Verizon Wireless’ network. read more »