GigaOM: Top Cleantech Stories of 2012

10). A Khosla-backed big data energy startup you should know
about: Published
in late October, this profile of energy data startup Bidgely, which has
backing from Khosla Ventures, had a combo of buzz-worthy terms like “big data,”
“startup” and “Khosla.” The startup does energy data appliance
disaggregation, which means it can take data from your smart meter and
accurately determine which of your appliances are energy hogs and which are
energy misers.


9). Bill Gates-backed Liquid Metal Battery is now . . .
Ambri: In this nice little exclusive, I
wrote about how a battery company called Liquid Metal Battery had decided to
change its name to Ambri, as the company moves closer to commercialization. The
internet cared partly because Bill Gates has invested in the company, and also
because the founder of Ambri, Donald Sadoway, went
on Jon Stewart later in the year.


8). Video: We test drive Tesla’s Model S electric car! Now
this was a fun one. For our Green Overdrive show this summer, we
got to be one of the first journalists to do a test drive of Tesla’s Model S
electric car. It was a smooth, vibration-free ride, and the car had excellent
torque.


7). The story behind how Apple’s iCloud data center got
built: Whenever I get a chance to travel or visit a site where new
clean power technology is being installed I take it. For a data center road trip
series, I drove around North Carolina and visited some of the towns and talked with the
economic-development folks that helped pave the way for Apple’s huge new solar
farm there, which is being built next to its data center. My most popular story
in the four-part series was “The
story behind how Apple’s iCloud data center got built.”


6). Nest thermostat reviewed: A smart device for all
seasons: GigaOM’s mobile guru Kevin
Tofel wrote a detailed review of the Nest learning thermostat, after he used
it for several weeks at his house. Tofel is used to getting attention for his
stories: His reporting helped influence Apple’s decision to build the iPad mini,
and he’s recently been doing
some great stories about GM’s Chevy Volt, which he bought a month ago.


5). A rare look inside Facebook’s Oregon data center [photos
video]: On a tour in mid-August we
visited Facebook’s energy efficient data center in Oregon and learned about
its outdoor chilling system and its new server architecture. We grabbed a series
of mini Flip videos, as well as a full photo spread of the technology that
Facebook is using there.


4). Hands-on video with Tesla’s electric Model X: Thanks to
the mad-dash editing skills of GigaOM Creative Director Chris Albrecht, we
shot and unveiled this video of Tesla’s Model X electric car over a few-hour
period at Tesla’s event in February 2012. Because the live feed of the Model X launch
was delayed that night, we also got a nice audience boost as it was the only
footage — video and photos — of the Model X at the time.


3). The first photos of Tesla’s electric SUV the Model X:
Along with the video, we posted these
first photos of Tesla’s Model X car. We were one of the first sites to post
these, and we were one of just a few journalists at the preview event, so we got
a lot of traction with them.


2). A battery breakthrough that could bring electric cars to the
masses: A profile of promising battery startup Envia
was near the top of the top 10 list, at #2. I got out early with the story,
so that helped draw attention, but thanks to Reddit, the article also got some
more mainstream attention.


1). Behold Apple’s massive solar farm from the sky [photos]:
Sometimes the killer posts are the ones that just kind of fall into your lap.
North Carolina’s TV Station WCNC-TV sent me some aerial photos they took of
Apple’s solar farm in North Carolina, after I did an interview with them about
the data center cluster in the state. I popped a snappy headline on top and the
rest is page view history (with over 50,000 page views on the post
alone).

Source: GigOM