If companies make good on their promises for 2010, it could be a banner year for the renewable technologies movement, according to the Cleantech Group.  There's a lot of work in store for high-profile clean technology vendors with big claims that we've collected below, which range from small startups to billion-dollar corporates.  Some of the promises are incremental, but others could be game changing.  Here are 10 of the most interesting developments chosen by Cleantech.

Governments and utilities are expected to ramp up their investments in the electrical smart grid, spending a total of $200 billion worldwide from 2008 through 2015, says a new Pike Research report.  Technologies to automate the grid are expected to win around 84% of that $200 billion.  Smart metering systems to track and analyze the usage of electricity, gas, and water will grab 14%, while systems to power electrical cars will garner the remaining 2%.  Though the grid has seen some technological advancements, it still suffers from a lack of intelligence and automation that would provide greater efficiency and cost savings, according to Pike.  Four key goals will drive higher investments in the grid:  improving reliability and security; improving operating efficiencies and costs; balancing power generation supply and demand; and reducing the overall electrical system's impact on climate change.

During a year of drama for the solar industry, solar panel makers and their suppliers and customers had to scramble to draw up survival plans.  Now it looks like the worst is over.  Or, at least that's what companies are hoping for.  Greentech Media lists the top 10 solar trends of 2009, including pricing, outsourcing, government stimulus, and manufacturing trends.

It was a year of electric vehicles boost lithium-ion batteries, DOE dollars for grid storage, ice-making air conditioners, and a smart grid to rule them all.  Greentech Media looks back at 2009's push into energy storage – from batteries for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles to the slower development of a variety of technologies for storing power on the electricity grid.

There are 244 renewable energy projects proposed in California, according to a list provided by the governor’s office.  While the bulk of the largest would-be power generators are massive solar projects in the California desert, there are many wind projects also on the list, with Kern County being a favored location.  If all the projects were to be built, they would generate almost 70,000 MW of clean energy annually.  Currently California facilities produce just more than 8,000 MW of renewable energy annually.  In addition to the solar and wind projects, other alternative energy projects include geothermal, biomass and small hydro facilities.  The projects are listed here and here.

As it sets out to replace its 1.2 million electric meters with computerized smart meters, San Diego Gas & Electric will make energy usage information available to customers on their computers, their phones and dedicated dashboards.  The company is installing 7,000 meters a day and recently topped 300,000 meters overall.  Beginning in January, customers with smart meters will be able to track usage information online.  SDG&E has teamed up with Google for a free service called the Google PowerMeter, which will allow users to see how they used power the day before, how their usage compares with their neighbors and get a bill estimate.

Consumer backlash and cost concerns may cause delays in the nationwide rollout of smart utility meters at the center of the Obama administration’s $8 billion push to update the U.S. electricity grid.  PG&E Corp. halted meter installations in Bakersfield after hundreds of customers complained that readings weren’t accurate.  The meters, part of a smart-grid initiative billed as clearing the way for more renewable-energy use, are designed to help consumers conserve power during periods of peak demand. PG&E says its meters are accurate and hot weather and increased rates led to higher bills than consumers expected.  The state Utilities Commission ordered an independent study of billing accuracy.

Politicians and business owners have long been fond of talking up the virtues of solar power, but for most homeowners, installing solar panels simply isn't financially realistic.  GoSolarSF began in July 2008 to make the move more affordable for residents.  Homeowners can now apply for city-funded cash grants -- from $500 to $7,000 -- to subsidize purchases of home solar equipment.  The maximum income level for a one-person household to participate in the program is $63,350.  It's $72,400 for a two-person household and $81,450 for a three-person home.

A number of Bay Area solar companies -- including Akeena Solar, SolarCity, Sungevity and SunRun -- are pioneering new business models and creative financing mechanisms to make rooftop solar more affordable, and local and state governments, as well as Washington, are poised to help.  The White House is promoting a new form of financing generically known as PACE, or Property Assessed Clean Energy, that allows private property owners to pay for renewable projects like solar and energy efficiency upgrades through an addition to their property tax bill.

KQED, a public radio station in San Francisco, reported that as the cost of scrap metal has fallen, thieves have turned to solar panels.  According to the story, California has more than 34,000 solar installations and one of the highest solar-panel theft rates in the nation.  Many wineries that have the systems have become favored targets.  Solar-cell theft is such a problem that Congressman Mike Thompson, who represents Napa Valley, added a provision to the Solar Technology Roadmap Act that would create a national registry of solar panels and require the secretary of energy to come up with a plan to deal with theft.

For nearly 20 years, National Renewable Energy Laboratory scientists found and isolated around 3,000 species of algae from construction ditches, seasonal desert ponds and briny mashes across the country in a major bioprospecting effort to find the best organisms to convert sunlight and carbon dioxide into fuel for cars.  Despite meager funding, the Aquatic Species Program, initiated under President Jimmy Carter, laid the scientific foundation for making diesel-like fuel from the fat that microscopic algae accumulate in their cells.  This article examines the legacy of the program that sought to develop a new biofuel.

Cannon Power Group closed a $178 million financing deal with Siemens Financial Services, allowing it to expand an existing wind generation project in southern Washington State.  Cannon combined a government grant with a pre-pay agreement involving a public power authority to complete the financing.  The firm plans to use proceeds to pay down previous project debt with HSH Nordbank and build another 60 MW of capacity using 26 turbines.  Cannon structured the financing with the Siemens financial group based on a "pre-pay" power purchase agreement structure combined with federal stimulus money.

The Navajo Nation is going forward with a two-phase, 235-megawatt wind development.  It would be the nation's first green energy project and potentially the largest to be owned by a Native American tribe.  The Navajo Nation Council voted nearly unanimously to approve two leases for the Big Boquillas wind project on state and tribal lands in northwest Arizona.  The first phase of the project, anticipated to be 48 turbines with a capacity of 85MW, is scheduled to begin construction by December 2010.

Solar Southwest Technology is going at the problem of energy storage with a new twist.  The idea is to take surplus energy at any hour of the day, and from any source, and use it to pump air into a subterranean cavern.  Then, when electricity is needed, the air can be bled from the cavern to spin a turbine.  The turbine spins a generator and puts power on the grid on demand, rather than at the whim of sun or breeze.  Solar Southwest’s project is at an early stage. The company set up a prototype solar dish and turbine in Phoenix near the airport, convenient to engineers and potential investors.

A San Jose-based energy company plans to revive two steam-generating wells in The Geysers geothermal project, which straddle Sonoma and Lake counties.  The U.S Department of Energy is contributing nearly $6 million, about half the estimated cost of the project to begin next summer.  Mike Rogers, vice president of Calpine's geothermal project, says water will be injected into one well to add to natural underground steam.  The second well will help trace the steam's source, movement and effects.  Then the roles of the two wells in the 30-square-mile steam field will be switched.  Calpine already operates other electricity-generating wells at The Geysers.