The Path To Washington: VCs, Cleantech Start-Ups Seek DC Ties – Wall Street Journal Blogs

Green has increased the frequency of trips he takes to Washington, as have other partners at his firm, to ensure that lawmakers and regulators understand how “a turn of a phrase might effectively kill or create an industry,” he said. That was the case with the $1.6 billion manufacturing tax credit for renewable energy companies included in the $787 billion stimulus legislation approved in February, which in its draft form didn’t apply to early-stage companies.

Greenhouse Capital goes back to the well for first fund – VentureBeat

Instead of launching a second fund, Greenhouse Capital Partners has decided to reopen its $12 million first fund to raise even more, reports VentureWire. Based in Sausalito, Calif., the firm typically backs seed-stage cleantech startups. It had hoped to raise $100 million when it set out last year, but had its dreams dashed when the downturn set in.

Investments in “clean tech” plummet – The Seattle Times

After a record year in 2008, U.S. venture capital funding in clean tech during the first quarter — $277 million raised in 24 deals — was down 63 percent in capital and 48 percent in deals compared with the same period in 2008.

Eying Energy Storage, ZettaCore Gets $21M for Efficient Chip Tech – Earth2Tech

Eventually the chemists and entrepreneurs at ZettaCore have a grand vision, as Cleantech Group reports, to make ionic liquids that can store heat in solar thermal power plants, and build the infrastructure to deliver thousands of liters’ worth of the liquids to customers. And the team also has its eye on using its nanotech for ultracapacitors and batteries.

Startup sells solar panels online – SFGate

Last year, Sungevity added a page to its Web site that lets prospective customers plug in their home addresses and see how much various solar panels would cost and how much energy they could save over several years.

A Sungevity engineer can calculate these costs in about 10 minutes with help from Microsoft’s Virtual Earth – mapping software that helps him visualize the length, width, pitch and orientation of a roof and how much sunlight it can get.