CleanTech OC Daily - 3/21/12

The clean energy revolution will be crowd funded
A vote on the Senate’s version of the Jumpstart Our Business Start-ups (or JOBS) has been delayed in the Senate by new arguments. The JOBS Act (Jumpstart Our Business Start-ups) would ease regulations and allow startups to raise seed capital from a large number of individual investors. This concept of crowd fund investing will bring more transparency to the market and allow the crowd scrutinize the merits of the investment.

Ex-CIA director: The smart grid needs to wake up to security

Utility companies are not primarily focused on data security, therefore it is up to the people working on smart grid technologies to pick up the slack. This is according to former CIA director James Woolsey, who went on to say that in addition to not being security-focused, utility companies are more concerned with adding fun new features rather than keeping the grid stable.  

Swear Off Subsidies To Achieve A Clean Energy Future

The renewable energy industry has recently been fighting in Congress to extend U.S. subsidies for green power projects – this is occurring while a group of solar companies press an unfair trade complaint against China. Michael Liebreich, chairman of Bloomberg New Energy Finance, told industry leaders that “while subsidies have helped jump-start the clean energy industry they’re outlived their usefulness politically.”