California Clean Tech Update 03.10.10

California utility regulators not quite ready for fuel cells (New York Times)

While Google, Wal-Mart and other corporations have embraced fuel cells, California regulators have turned down requests from the state's two biggest utilities to install the technology. In a preliminary decision, an administrative law judge with the California Public Utilities Commission found unwarranted an application from Pacific Gas and Electric and Southern California to spend more than $43 million to install fuel cells that would generate six megawatts of electricity.

Green plastic breakthrough from Big Blue, Stanford (CNET)

A group of scientists from IBM and Stanford University announced Wednesday a chemistry breakthrough that could change the nature of plastics and plastics recycling. Using organic catalysts, the team has developed a new method for producing and breaking down plastic polymers.

California global warming law may lead to job losses, report says (LA Times)

The state's nonpartisan legislative analyst's office says the losses could occur in the short term. State Sen. David Cogdill uses the report to criticize climate regulation.

California to regulate "most potent" greenhouse gas (New York Times)

Starting in 2011, California will regulate emissions from electric utility equipment of the gas sulfur hexafluoride -- commonly called SF6. It is typically used in high voltage transmission systems in circuit breakers, switches and insulation, according to a recent California Air Resources Board announcement.

Secretary Chu: "US lagging in clean-tech race" (Palo Alto Online)

The U.S. lags behind other countries in the race for clean technology even though it has the greatest "innovation machine" in the world, U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu told a Stanford University audience Monday. But the clean-tech race is not just between nations -- it's a global race against time, Chu warned.