While the grandiose schemes so favored by Barky Obama and other Democratics continue to flame out after costing taxpayers billions (Solyndra, A123, ReVolt, and many others), Fujifilm went after more modest applications, and in conjunction with the Japanese version of DARPA, produced a nano-fabric that's flexible, organic, and produced by printing - rendering it suitable for rapid upscaling. It uses the temperature differences between human skin and ambient air to directly generate electricity. Potential uses include powering phones, medical devices, and other small-scale but ubiquitous applications.
As for the more grandiose efforts, well...let's just say they're not exactly ready for prime-time, as this Fisker owner discovered after powering down his $100,000 car to pick up some groceries:
$100,000 to $0.00 in seconds. That's incredible performance.
Danish windmill purveyor Vestas (U.S. Headquarters in Portland, subsidized by millions in tax dollars, courtesy of former mayor Sammy Adams) is continuing to cut back as well, as they expect 2013 to be "a tough year for the wind industry". At the beginning of last year, the company employed nearly 23,000 people; they expect that number to be around 16,000 by the end of this year.
