Monday’s Wall Street meltdown could signal trouble for CleanTech investment; Consumer Reports faults Energy Star; and Zap breaks ground in Kentucky.

Credit crisis hurting clean energy sector – bankers: Investors at a renewable energy conference in London are trying to get a handle on the implications of Monday’s Wall Street meltdown. At first blush, the tightening of credit doesn’t look good for CleanTech. Europe, for instance, has set some fairly ambitious goals for renewable energy. But a slowdown in long-term lending will make those benchmarks difficult to achieve. A Rabobank spokesperson told Reuters that the CleanTech sector will have to look for new sources of funding, such as investment by pension funds or other areas of bank finance. (Reuters)

Oil prices fall, but gas prices don’t: The price of crude oil closed below $100 a barrel for the first time in six months Monday, but drivers aren’t seeing any relief at the pumps. That’s because the problem lies on the refining end of the production chain. It will likely be several days before refineries closed by Hurricane Ike can resume operations. Meanwhile, petroleum companies began to dispatch engineering crews to survey offshore rigs evacuated before the storm struck the Texas coast Saturday. (USA Today)

Energy Star Standards Lax: Consumer Reports: An article in the October issue of Consumer Reports takes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy to task for failing to maintain Energy Star specifications and testing procedures. The consumer advocacy magazine says it’s time for third party verification of Energy Star claims. Consumer Reports independently tested several Energy Star-certified products and found that many failed to meet their stated efficiency claims. (GreenBiz.com)

Virtually Transparent “Energy Ball” Wind Turbine Unveiled: A low-profile design may make small wind turbines more palatable for residential use. The Sweedish Company Home Energy’s new Energy Ball turbine uses a six-blade rotary design which is nearly transparent when in motion. Combined with a low-noise generator set, the Energy Ball is a fairly non-obtrusive package that requires very little wind to become operational. The V100 model produces up to 500 watts, and should retail somewhere in the $4,000 class when it reaches the U.S. market. (Next Energy News)

Alias invited to Zap’s Kentucky plant groundbreaking: Electric carmaker Zap has broken ground on its new U.S. production plant. The $184 million Kentucky facility is expected to one day take over the entire Zap line, most of which is currently produced in China. Zap celebrated the groundbreaking by showing off an early prototype of its Alias passenger vehicle. The three wheeler may roll off the line with the new plant’s first cars sometime late next year. (Autoblog Green)