I had a chance recently to talk about trends in the cleantech sector with Rick Whittaker, vice-president of investments at Sustainable Development Technology Canada. Whittaker’s job is to seek out investments in Canadian cleantech companies as part of a funding program aimed at stimulating private investment. For every dollar that SDTC invests in a project the private sector will contribute two. It’s a great model that is playing a major role in stimulating commercialization of Canadian clean technologies.  Dozens of projects have been funded over the years related to clean energies, waste management/disposal, biofuels, hydrogen/fuel cells, energy management/conservation, etc… Check out the podcast for more details.

On the heels of Toyota disclosing plans to accelerate R&D into plug-in hybrids, General Motors — the company that killed the EV1 electric car in the late 1990s — is apparently serious about coming out with a plug-in hybrid of its own, according to Bloomberg News, which bases the information on anonymous GM officials. This isn’t unexpected. Given Toyota’s dominance in the market for hybrids, both GM and Ford are looking for ways to leapfrog the Japanese carmaker. If Toyota’s looking at plug-in hybrids, it would be a big mistake for the American automakers to turn a blind eye. What’s interesting is that the Bloomberg story, citing the GM officials, says the automaker could have a commercial model ready for next year… sounds ambitious, but who knows?

So, in my May 7th post I raised the question of how much wind is too much for Ontario, and I urged the authorities in the province to follow California by launching a study to answer this very question. Somebody must have been listening. The Ontario Power Authority hired GE Energy this month to, according to a press statement, “determine the maximum amount of wind power that could be added to the Ontario bulk power system with minimal impact on system operation.” The study, expected to be complete by the end of this summer, will analyse wind integration scenarios where wind represents up to 35 per cent of the total power mix.

Curious story from the BBC News about a project in the U.K. to line a parking lot — and eventually roads and tarmacs — with water-filled pipes that asborb heat as the sun pounds down. It’s hoped that such a system could be used in the future to provide hot water and heating to nearby homes. The company behind the project is called Invisible Heating Systems Ltd., but unfortunately the BBC doesn’t provide a lot of detail about how the technology works.

I’ve heard of tubing under roads before. Niagara Fallsview casino relies on such a system in the winter to prevent ice buildup on sidewalks and in the parking lot. The result is no use of road salt and fewer potential lawsuits from angry, drunken gamblers who slip on the ice and break something. But I believe the Niagara system is heated by natural gas, whereas the one in the U.K. is capturing its heat from the sun and, possibly (I’m guessing), some kind of geothermal setup. Anyway, cool project to follow.

Privately held Nanosolar Inc. of San Francisco announced today that it plans to build a solar factory that will manufacture 200 million thin-film solar cells a year, making it one of the largest — if not the largest — in the world. We’re talking 430 megawatts of solar output per year. The company said it has negotiated ”just above” $100 million in financing, which would go toward construction and operation of the San Francisco factory and a solar panel fabrication plant to be built in Germany. What’s interesting is that Jeff Skoll, through his Capricorn Management investment firm, and Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, are both investors in Nanosolar. The same Silicon Valley billionaires are also key investors in electric car maker Tesla Motors.

Interesting quote in the Nanosolar press release from fellow Canadian Skoll, whose production company Participant Productions is behind Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth documentary: “Coal-fired power plants are one of the biggest drivers of global warming. As we shift toward a future where the risks of global warming are recognized as both unsustainable and immoral, a company like Nanosolar can help us keep power affordable.”

Here, here… Jeff, if you’re reading (wishful thinking), drop me a line. I’d like to chat about your cleantech endeavours…

In other solar news, Sanyo Electric Co. said it plans to “accelerate” spending on its solar PV business to $349 million (U.S.) over five years. Revenue from its business has doubled, and the company expects to see sales triple in four years. The Japanese company said it will spend about $85 million at its Osaka plant to increase production capacity by 100 megawatts to 260 megawatts annually by March 2008. It will also make higher power panels with a 22 per cent conversion efficiency (up from 19.5 per cent). Sanyo is the world’s fourth biggest maker of solar panels.

For a great post on solar and what to watch for over the coming months and year, check out Rob Day’s Cleantech Investing. Rob talks about the aggressive rise of thin-film startups, the likelihood of a flood of solar IPOs this year, and speculates that consolidation of the industry will soon follow. I’ll add that there are more companies trying to play the high efficiency route, betting that the premium for higher efficiency cells will pay off because of the lower installation costs associated with them (i.e. higher energy conversion rate means fewer panels to install).