California Clean Tech Update 03.02.10

What you need to know about the ARPA-E program (earth2tech)If you've been worried that the Department of Energy's loans, loan guarantees and grants to greentech startups like Tesla, Solyndra, and BrightSource, are too risky, then you're not going to be too keen on the DOE's high-risk energy tech fund, ARPA-E (Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy). But that's the entire point of the ARPA-E program -- to support moonshot technologies that might be too risky for other investors -- and the DOE has already announced the first round of ARPA-E grants, and has awarded a total of $151 million for 37 projects.

Coda Auto: $40 million more before EV launch (Cleantech Group)

Santa Monica-based electric vehicle maker making final tweaks to its $35,000-or-less sedan to met 2010 sales target, but is already looking at other applications of its technology.

Tesla buddies up with luxury watchmaker for special edition Roadster (Green Beat)

Tesla Motors will be teaming up with Swiss luxury watch company Tag Heuer to produce a special edition of its Roadster. The company has been fairly quiet since filing for its IPO last month, so this is a fun bit of news: The vehicle will make its debut at the Geneva Auto Show this week. The idea is for both luxury brands to increase their global cachet. Tag, which is unveiling a new tech-savvy watch on March 18, has yet to become a major presence in the U.S., while Tesla is still building its presence in Europe.

Parsing fact from fiction with the Bloom Energy box (CNET)

A company seems to have come out of nowhere, raised loads of money, has retired Gen. Colin Powell on its board, and made some audacious claims about reinventing the energy business. As I dug through last week's news, I asked myself: Is Bloom Energy's public relations blitz to be believed? The short answer, it appears, is "yes." But don't expect miracles.