Boston is finding that connecting variable distributed generation resources is a bit harder than initially thought.  This realization will become more apparent across the country as complex monitoring and communication systems are being bolted to inefficient and outdated grid infrastructure.  Vinod Khosla underscores this point as well in a recent interview with Forbes.  He seems more in favor of investing in the transmission system before the Smart Grid.  Also see previous post on Green Power Transmission and the importance of fixing the transmission system first.

The WSJ Daily Startup reports on comments by Tom Siebel, that Silicon Valley has lost its luster because information technology “is much less important in the global picture than it was even 10 to 20 years ago.”  ??  Perhaps energy will overtake IT, but likely we will see the deployment of strong IT resources and technologists to develop enhanced grid operations, communication and energy/emissions monitoring.  VCs are also changing their view that perhaps energy investing is more like biotech investing…it takes at least as many years as bringing a new drug to market.

Despite all of the hype, the New York Times reports that capital is drying up for clean tech.  Hard to draw a firm conclusion at this point, although new stories on capital (private and public) being deployed to cleantech are appearing daily.

The Climate Bill will continue to see challenges from many angles and not just from Southern Republicans.  Politico reports that real opposition is developing from Democrats in the south, Rust Belt and coal states. South Carolina representative, Jim Clyburn, wants to include nuclear within the definition of renewable.  Another previous post on the magnitude of renewable energy projects required among the above regions underscores this opposition.