Nissan’s Leaf charger will soon power your home for two days

Those in the market for a new car may want to give Nissan’s fully electric-powered vehicle, the Leaf, another look after the company’s latest announcement.

The company said that its Japanese customers will now start receiving Leaf-based EV Power Stations …

Spotlight on hybrids: 4 of top 6 Le Mans contenders are hybrid race cars

[ UPDATED ]

Sorry, NASCAR fans. Probably the most important motorsport event in the world is 24 Hours of Le Mans. It’s the world’s oldest continually-running car race, and somewhat surprisingly this year, four of the top six contenders are …

Is solar right for your business?

It’s a question that puzzles many CEOs: Is going solar the right choice? Even though solar is the most mature renewable technology, tested in multiple residential and commercial installations, business leaders are still uncertain about making the move. As rebates …

Dept. of Energy throws millions at a startup trying to make solar energy mainstream

The U.S. Department of Energy wants normal Americans to start using solar energy in their everyday lives. To that end, it’s just granted $2 million to Solar Mosaic, a sort of Kickstarter for solar projects.

Solar Mosaic is still in …

Ford’s new mobile app promises to speed up car-charging

Ford not only unveiled its first all-electric car today – check out VB writer Sean Ludwig’s test drive with the new vehicle) – but the company also announced a new mobile app to help keep the car charged: MyFord Mobile …

Nanosolar prints solar panels onto sheets of aluminum foil, grabs $70M

Solar company Nanosolar believes that solar panels don’t have to be heavy slabs. That’s why it developed a way to print solar cells as thin as a sheet of aluminum foil.

Nanosolar announced today it has raised $70 million in …

Nest smart thermostat to be sold in Apple retail stores

The Nest smart thermostat may soon by sitting on an Apple store shelf near you, an appropriate move for a company created by the former senior vice president of Apple’s iPod division.

iLounge is reporting that the thermostat, which has …

GreenBytes nabs $12M to improve energy-efficient SSD tech

Solid-state array maker GreenBytes has raised $12 million in its second round of funding, with a goal of making SSD technology more energy-efficient while still keeping up performance, the company announced this morning.

The new round shows that the conversation …

Solving the energy storage problem, Liquid Metal Battery Corp raises $15M with support from Bill Gates

Liquid Metal Battery Corporation, which says it found the solution to storing energy from renewable sources, is getting a new charge in funding.

Led by cleantech investor Khosla Ventures, the battery tech company has raised $15 million in a second …

Get money for your crappy old phones

Brush off those dusty old electronics and broken phones sitting in a drawer. EcoATM has raised $17 million for its electronics recycling “ATM” kiosks, which give you money for handing over old phones, MP3 players, and even laptops.

The other …

For Earth Day: a chat with IBM’s “Building Whisperer,” Dave Bartlett, on the tech behind sustainability

IBM recently won the contract to create a more sustainable and energy efficient Los Angeles Unified School District. But before ripping out old roofs or replacing leaky windows, David Bartlett’s, the computing gaint’s sustainability guru, took a look at the …