Feb 19 2010

Green Seen

Posted by: Katie Romans

Several items relating to the business and technology of clean energy and the environment caught our attention this week:

Calling all U.S. grad and undergrad entrepreneurs! The MIT Clean Energy Prize is accepting entries for its fourth annual competition, and the prizes are nothing to sneeze at. Semifinalists get coaching from business and technology leaders. Finalists present detailed business plans to venture capitalists, policy experts, academics and corporate executives. The grand prize is $200,000 awarded by NStar and the federal Department of Energy. The deadline is February 25, so no procrastinating.

The new Silicon Valley? Livermore was recently designated one of six future Innovation Hubs for Technology Development (iHubs) by California's Business, Transportation and Housing Agency. The city is hopeful the designation will bring with it the potential for additional funding for green energy technology. Livermore was chosen to be an inaugural iHub member for its development of the Innovation for Green Advanced Transportation Excellence (i-GATE) plan, which seeks to develop futuristic energy technologies and create an "open campus" area near the high-security federal labs where private, hi-tech business and/or academic development could occur.

Worldwide clean energy investment was down in 2009, according to EnergyBoom.com's analysis of several studies. But the future looks bright as the brand new DB NASDAQ OMX Clean Tech Index was recently launched. The new index is made up of 119 companies that each derive at least a third of their revenues from clean technology.

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