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The Debrief May 2, 2019

Debrief: Catell, consortium set to blow the doors off

  Robert Catell isn’t so much “busy” as “hyperactive.” Decades after serving as chairman of KeySpan and National Grid’s U.S. operations, the iconic innovator (last Debriefed by Innovate LI in 2016) remains integrally involved in multiple energy-efficiency efforts. As chairman of the New York Smart Grid Consortium and of Stony Brook University’s Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center, Catell is all in on sustainability, a focus reinforced by his leadership of the National Offshore Wind…

Newsletters April 19, 2019

No. 398: The shadows of Mercy, the lessons of JLABS and an arthritis shocker (plus: garlic breath!)

  Holy cow, what a week: Good Friday morning, dear reader, and a good Good Friday morning to those of the Christian persuasion, and a peaceful Passover, too. Whatever your holiday of choice, the blessed end of another busy workweek is upon us. It’s April 19 out there, and on the subject of special observances, a safe and happy Landing of the 33 Patriots Day to our many readers in Uruguay. Double Dutch: Today is…

Clean Energy April 2, 2019

At offshore consortium, $7M is blowing in the wind

By GREGORY ZELLER // A syndicate of offshore-wind leaders from around the region, the nation and the world is looking to energize the path to sustainability with a hefty funding drive. The National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium this week announced the availability of up to $7 million in research-and-development funding, part of its “first comprehensive solicitation for offshore wind-technology projects.” The seven-figure stipend marks “an important step in advancing the long-term strategy for…

Clean Energy March 21, 2019

Island’s first large-scale digester to feed energy needs

By GREGORY ZELLER // If you’ve had a bellyful of landfill waste, hang on – Long Island’s first stand-alone large-scale anaerobic digester is finally on its way. The Long Island Power Authority’s Board of Trustees has approved an energy contract with a new food waste-recycling facility in Yaphank, claiming to be capable of reducing Island-wide greenhouse gas emissions by 85,000 metric tons annually – the equivalent of removing 18,000 cars from regional roads, according to…

Newsletters March 15, 2019

No. 389: Inventing escalators, building a better battery, finding FarmBot – and happy birthday, RBG!

  Stretch run: Welcome to Friday, intrepid reader, and the last leg of another busy workweek. It’s March 15 out there, and you’re already doing better than Julius Caesar, so, that’s a start. Universal translator: Today is World Speech Day, celebrating the power of a good sermon, and the 62nd annual World Contact Day, on which extraterrestrial enthusiasts highlight international efforts to reach out and touch someone. Or something. Et Tu Snow? Caesar, who finally…

Government March 14, 2019

NYSERDA sets parameters for battery energy storage

By GREGORY ZELLER // With next-generation battery energy-storage systems gaining mainstream steam and Gov. Andrew Cuomo hitting the gas on new sustainability options, NYSERDA is officially setting some ground rules. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority has announced the release of the Battery Energy Storage System Guidebook, Albany’s first – if not quite definitive – say on how such systems will be permitted to work across the Empire State. The guidebook is…

Newsletters January 25, 2019

No. 375: Co-working, crowdfunding and a ton of patents … plus the origin of the pink lawn flamingo!

  End run: Welcome to the finish line of another bust workweek, dear reader – it’s Friday, the weekend is upon us and you’ve seen the job through, once again. Well done. It’s Jan. 25 out there, and if you had the Abbasid rebels overthrowing the Umayyad Caliphate in the Battle of the Zab 1,269 years ago today, good for you. Collect 200 silver dirhams at the window. That Burns: Tonight marks Burns Night in…

Newsletters December 7, 2018

No. 363: The Master of Innovation prognosticates, Dowling writes it down and DG Sotheby’s techs up (once again)

  Welcome to Friday: You’ve done it, intrepid innovators – the sun sets on another busy workweek and rises on another well-earned weekend. Nicely played. Changeable skies: It’s Dec. 7 out there, a date that will live in infamy, as FDR famously said, and that obviously includes some terrible things done with airplanes. But this date also brings us International Civil Aviation Day, an annual celebration of aviation’s uniquely cooperative history and big-time contributions to…

Clean Energy November 13, 2018

Cold start: With $25M round set, ThermoLift ices test

By GREGORY ZELLER // A Stony Brook-based heat-pump innovator has completed a rigorous round of prototype testing – and, in the process, crushed a series of critical U.S. Department of Energy performance standards. ThermoLift, headquartered at Stony Brook University’s Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center and a member of the university’s Clean Energy Business Incubator Program, announced Tuesday that it’s wrapped up testing of its innovative, refrigerant-free natural-gas air conditioner and cold-climate heat pump technology…

Newsletters November 9, 2018

No. 356: Blacks in golf, women in Johns Hopkins and advanced aerospace manufacturing in Riverhead – thank you, veterans

Finishing strong: It’s Friday, dear readers – welcome to the end of another busy week of socioeconomic innovation and related delights. It’s Nov. 9 out there, and if you had the Jews aiding the Muslims – as charged by Egica, king of the Visigoths, at the Seventeenth Council of Toledo on this date in 694 AD – nice job. A hundred gold solidus for you. Salute: If today’s the ninth then Sunday’s Nov. 11, when…

Newsletters October 17, 2018

No. 349: Canada’s new high, Sikes’ new heights and LineaRX’s highest hopes (plus, repainting President Trump)

  Middle ground: Welcome to Wednesday, dear readers, and the halfway point of another exciting week of socioeconomic innovation. October 17 is in full swing, marking the 25th anniversary of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, a U.N. General Assembly effort to address shortages of basic necessities (i.e.: food, clothing, shelter) around the globe and reinforce the notion that poverty and human-rights abuses routinely coexist. Learn more here. Eye of the beholder: On…

Newsletters September 28, 2018

No. 344: Blowing in from Denmark, droning on at PSEG and star trekking in Garden City (plus, your Cocoa Puffs origin story) 

Friday morning and the mood is high: Welcome to the end of another busy workweek, dear readers. It’s Sept. 28 out there, and the first full weekend of autumn is upon us. Friday night and the lights are low: To get you in the proper mood, check out this list of the top 15 Friday songs, courtesy of our friends at MetroLyrics. Freedom rocks: It’s International Right to Know Day, the 16th anniversary of a…

Newsletters September 19, 2018

No. 341: Farming out east, divesting at Applied DNA and skipping the most important meal of the day (plus … Super Lawyers!)

Middle ground: Welcome to Wednesday, friends, and the midpoint of another busy workweek on beautiful Long Island. It’s Sept. 19 out there – Day 730 of the bitter Brangelina divorce proceedings, which kicked off when Angelina Jolie filed for divorce from Brad Pitt two years ago today. Stay tuned. Shofar, so good: It started at sundown Tuesday and lasts through sundown today, when they’ll be blowing the ceremonial ram’s horn at synagogues around the world….

Opinion September 12, 2018

On LI, the electric-vehicle revolution is fully charged

By JOHN BILLARD // It’s National Drive Electric Week, and drivers across the country are showing off their electric vehicles. Americans are looking towards the future when it comes to their vehicles. According to a 2018 AAA survey, 20 percent of Americans want their next vehicle to be electric. Fortunately, the future of electric vehicles is only looking better and brighter than ever – particularly right here on Long Island. Last fall, Ford partnered with…

Workforce September 6, 2018

State pumps $15M into SUNY’s clean-energy programs

By GREGORY ZELLER // The state university system’s clean-energy workforce-development efforts have received an eight-digit shot in the arm. A $15 million state investment will bolster SUNY’s clean-energy workforce and training programs, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office, with $6 million heading to specific campus-based efforts – including several on Long Island – and an additional $9 million earmarked for colleges and universities planning apprenticeships and internships with industry partners. The funding is part of…