energy efficiency

Intel Capital has made a new set of investments through its $200 million Invest in America Technology Fund. Four software and chip-design businesses that have collectively received more than $30 million from the patriotic fund: Adaptive Computing, Ciranova, Joyent and Nexant.

Cisco is expanding its foray into the smart grid with plans to acquire Arch Rock. The San Francisco-based startup is developing wireless-networking equipment for the electrical grid.

The Energy Department is funneling $120 million into financing and installing a variety of energy-efficient technologies to help low-income families cut energy use and save money.

EMeter, which makes software that monitors energy use, is the latest smart-grid tech startup to garner significant investment -- $12.5 million worth. With old electricity grids being replaced with smart ones, investors -- and tech giants like Google and Cisco -- are surging into the sector.

Global clean-tech venture investments rose 43% to $2 billion in the second quarter. Solar and biofuel startups garnered the biggest funding, while the IPO market for clean-tech was much hotter in China than the U.S.

The House approved the $6 billion Home Star Energy Retrofit Act, aka Cash for Caulkers, which aims to foster job growth and save Americans money on retrofitting their homes with energy efficient products.

Adding an entertaining dimension to the appeal of energy-saving home improvements and building on the promise of new tax incentives for homeowners, President Barack Obama termed insulation "a sexy subject" during a Home Depot visit in Alexandria, Va., on Tuesday. "Here's what's sexy about it....

The secret hero of Ronald Brownstein's article "The California Experiment" in the October Atlantic Monthly is Arthur H. Rosenfeld. A California Energy Commissioner, Rosenfeld is a winner of the Enrico Fermi Award -- the top scientific honor in the United States -- and a man widely recognized as an...