Welcome to the Green Chip Review Weekend Edition — our insights from the week in everything renewable energy and cleantech, as well as links to our most-read Green Chip Reviews and sister publication articles.

It seems everything went well for cleantech this week except stock prices.

Through the U.S. Energy Information Administration, it was learned that energy production from coal has been in decline for years, and is actually falling faster because of the recession.

According to Reuters:

Coal's share of U.S. power generation has fallen from 49 percent in 2007 to 45 percent this year. . .

Coal-fired generation fell 12.7 percent from June 2008 to June 2009, while gas-fired power remained steady, down only 0.3 percent, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration figures.

Even entrenched coal utilities like American Electric Power are trimming their plans to expand coal-fired plants. . . and Progress Energy is replacing them altogether.

But you can guess what is gaining share of energy production. . .

Over the first five months of 2009 (the most recent data available), energy production from renewable resources grew 8.7% over the same period a year ago — faster than any other sector. On an individual technology basis, wind grew even faster, increasing production by 32% in the same time.

So cleantech's up and coal is down. . . and that's not even all the good news.

We also learned this week that Khosla Ventures raised more than $1 billion in a single raise for clean technology. It was the largest technology-dedicated fund raise since 2007, leading Reuters to call it, "a sign that skittish investors are hot for climate-change-related projects."

The venture funds' investments will range from improvements on renewable technology, like solar power, to efficiency and biofuels and new battery systems.

Giving this story even more weight is the fact that the California Employees' Retirement System (Calpers) — the largest public pension fund in the country — put money into the raise.

I guess they're tired of getting burned by traditional investments and can see the profit potential in clean technology.

Dallas Kachan, of The Cleantech Group, called it "further vindication that very important sources of capital feel that we are also past the worst in clean technology investment." And speaking of vindication, readers of the Alternative Energy Speculator have been racking up a heckuva track record. You can read what they've been up to here.

Also here in the States, cleantech stimulus money is starting to be released. We've recently seen major funding for batteries and natural gas vehicles. . . and the beginning of $3 billion worth of direct payments began making its way to solar and wind projects.

On the international front, governments are busy preparing for climate talks later this year, called COP-15. State departments are busy preparing their lists of demands while the U.S. and BRIC nations continue jockeying for political position.

China is also bringing pressure to the solar market. Their copious amounts of cheap panels are driving down prices on a global scale and causing inventories to build. This could lead to a solar glut that we'll have to watch closely.

You can catch up on all recent Green Chip coverage below.

Call it like you see it,

Nick

P.S. In case you've missed any of the recent top stories from Green Chip Review and our companion publications, we've included them below.

Investing in Lithium Batteries: Investment Nirvana with Lithium
Green Chip Editor Nick Hodge discusses lithium's coming rise to power in the battery world and how you can get ahead of the profit curve. . . 

First Solar Stock: Buy, Sell, or Hold: First Solar and the Power Revolution
Wealth Daily Editor Steve Christ take a look at the solar power sector. Is First Solar a buy, sell or hold? Steve provides the answers.  

Alternative Energy Growth: Renewables Sail Past Nuclear
Energy and Capital Editor Nick Hodge talks about the EIA's most recent Monthly Energy Review, which shows alternative forms of energy produced more electricity than nuclear for the first time. . . So much for the argument that alternative energy "will never make a dent."

California Energy Efficiency: California Makes Huge Strides In Energy Efficiency Validation
Green Chip Review Editor Jeff Siegel explains how, thanks to proactive initiatives to curb energy use, the city of Los Angeles saw a 318 gigawatt-hour reduction in energy consumption for the 2008/2009 fiscal year. 

Energy's Historic Summit: Copenhagen, December 2009
Members of the Saudi Royal Family, high-ranking Israeli officials with ties to the Mossad, former members of the KGB's inner circle. . . all in one room. Learn more on why they're assembling in this new report.