Cleantech ticker: 16 March 2009

Cleantech news as it happens — check back for regular updates:

• The Miami Herald reports that the US Environmental Protection Agency is likely to kill a Bush administration programme that offered reduced regulation to companies that voluntarily pledged to reduce pollution;
• New York City could see sea levels rise more than twice as much as in other parts of the US as climate change progresses, according to new research;
• Researchers say “leakage” from the Southern hemisphere’s Agulhas Current can help stabilise or destabilise the climate in Europe;
• NASA’s space shuttle Discovery is now en route to the International Space Station, where astronauts will deploy a new set of solar arrays that will make the space station the second brightest object in the night sky;
• Applied Materials today released its Applied HCT MaxEdge™ wire saw for slicing ingots into ultra-thin wafers; the company says the technology can reduce the cost of producing photovoltaic cells to $0.18 per watt;
• The alternative energy storage market can expect to see strong growth in coming years, although the technology “still has a long way to go before it becomes mainstream,” according to a new report from Frost & Sullivan;
• Vertical Wind Energy of Ireland is seeking patents for its modular design vertical wind turbine;
• Far East Energy Corporation has secured up to $63 million in funding through a new strategic partnership with Arrow Energy International Ptd Ltd.;
• The Dow Chemical Company says it’s developed a new backing material that will make carpeting easier to recycle;
• The Coca-Cola Company is committing $30 million (US) over the next six years to its Replenish Africa safe drinking water initiative.