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$40,000 Available in AC-NET Clean Tech Business Plan Competition

Anaheim Center for New Energy Technologies (AC-NET)

The AC-NET Clean Tech Business Plan Competition is a new contest sponsored by the Anaheim Center for New Energy Technologies (AC-NET), a collaborative partnership between the city of Anaheim and Cal State Fullerton.  Judges will select three winning candidates with the technology that best addresses regional energy and water challenges and demonstrates profit potential in today's marketplace.  Cash prizes will be awarded in the amounts of $25,000 for first-place, $10,000 for second place, and $5,000 for third-place.

AC-NET is focused on revitalizing Anaheim's local and regional economy through supporting the efforts of entrepreneurs, start-ups and ventures in bringing clean water and energy technologies to market.  It was initially proposed by Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle in his 2008 State of the City Address. "The Clean Tech Business Plan Competition is a great way to kick off AC-NET's efforts," said Mayor Pringle. "We know that there are great ideas out there and, with a little help from AC-NET, those ideas can find the resources and help to come to market, creating new jobs and businesses in our region."

The submission deadline for this competition is March 16, 2009.  Additional information about AC-NET and the Clean Tech Business Plan Competition are available online at www.ACNET-Anaheim.net or by phone at 877-79-ACNET.

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California Clean Tech Open Announces Winners of 2008 Competition

California Clean Tech Open

The California Clean Tech Open (CCTO), a business plan competition offering more than $600,000 in prizes for early-stage clean technology startups who plan to locate their operations in California, announced the winners and runners-up in the six categories of its 2008 competition at an awards ceremony on November 6th.  They are:

  • Air, Water & Waste
    Winner: Over the Moon Diapers
    Runner-Up: Porifera
  • Energy Efficiency
    Winner: Viridis Earth
    Runner-Up: NexChem
  • Green Building
    Winner: BottleStone
    Runners-Up (2): GroundSource Geo, Solar Red
  • Renewables
    Winner: Focal Point Energy
    Runner-Up: Renewable Fuel Technologies  
  • Smart Power
    Winner: Power Assure
    Runner-Up: Energy Empowered 
  • Transportation
    Winner: ElectraDrive
    Runner-Up: Goose Networks

These winners and runners-up were selected from the 43 finalists of the 2008 competition, which began in April.  In addition, an "Alumni Award," recognizing outstanding business achievement by a 2006 or 2007 CCTO finalist, was presented to Jim Sanfilippo, CEO of NiLA, which won the 2007 CCTO Energy Efficiency Award.

For more information:

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California Treasurer Bill Lockyer to Discuss “California’s Green Economy” at Hanson Bridgett Sustainable Business Leadership Forum on September 18

Hanson Bridgett Sustainable Business Leadership Forum

The next Hanson Bridgett Sustainable Business Leadership Forum, a monthly networking and educational program, will take place on Thursday, September 18 and be on the topic of California’s Green Economy. This program will provide an investment outlook, explore emerging policies and the economic growth opportunities that are impacting California industries including cleantech, smart transportation, green building, and sustainable development.  The speakers will be:

This event will take place from 5:30 – 8:00 PM at Hanson Bridgett, 425 Market Street, 26th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105 (directions).  The admission fee is $25.  Space is limited and pre-registration is required.

For more information:

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2008 California Clean Tech Open Deadline is June 14

California Clean Tech Open

A reminder – June 14th is the deadline for the 2008 California Clean Tech Open, a business plan competition offering more than $600,000 in prizes for early-stage clean technology startups who plan to locate their operations in California. 

Also, to assist competition entrants a Southern California Executive Summary and Sustainability Workshop will be taking place in San Diego on Tuesday, June 10th.  Some materials from the Northern California workshop are listed below.

For more information:

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Association of Strategic Alliance Professionals – Silicon Valley Chapter to Present “The Power of Green Alliances” on May 14

Association of Strategic Alliance Professionals (ASAP)

On Wednesday, May 14, the Association of Strategic Alliance Professionals (ASAP) – Silicon Valley chapter will present a program entitled The Power of Green Alliances. The event will be hosted by Intel Corporation and is co-sponsored by the Silicon Valley Leadership Group (SVLG). This program will feature panelists who will share insights into how strategic alliances can support and advance green innovation. The panelists include:

Topics to be discussed include:

  • Are alliances in environmental technology impacting product development?
  • Where is venture funding being placed and do alliances matter?
  • What public / private partnerships are in place and how what will we see in the future?
  • How are partnerships in green technology managed and what examples of best practices are we seeing?

This program will be held from 5:30 – 8:30 pm at Intel, 2200 Mission College Blvd, Santa Clara, CA 95054.  The advance registration cost for the program is $20 for ASAP members, $30 for partner members, and $40 for non-members.  The price is $45 for all if you register at the door. 

For more information:

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California Clean Innovation 2008 (CACI) To Take Place on May 9

California Clean Innovation 2008 (CACI) is a one-day conference focusing on the clean technology sector that will place on May 9th at the Thomas Bradley International Hall on the campus of UCLA.  This event is organized by MBAs, faculty, and staff from the UCLA Anderson School of Management, the Center for the Science & Engineering of Materials at Caltech, and the Rady School of Management at UCSD.

California Clean Innovation 2008 will feature educational sessions and opportunities for networking and business development.  There will be two keynote addresses, 12 panel presentations, a career and technology fair, and a FastPitch Business Case Competition with a $10,000 grand  prize.  The keynotes will be delivered by Ira Ehrenpreis (General Partner, Technology Partners) and Stuart Hemphill (Vice President, Renewable and Alternative Power, Southern California Edison).

For more information:

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California Clean Tech Open To Hold Technology & Entrepreneur Matching Event on May 1

California Clean Tech Open

The California Clean Tech Open, a business plan competition offering more than $600,000 in prizes for early-stage clean technology startups who plan to locate their operations in California, will hold a technology and entrepreneur matching event on May 1.  The goals of the event are to:

  • build awareness of relevant research and emerging technologies
  • connect entrepreneurs with laboratory researchers and technologists
  • provide a forum for entrepreneurs to meet and assemble Clean Tech Open teams
  • examine and expedite the path to commercial viability and market entry

The event will include opportunities for networking and brief presentations from the following Innovation Partners, who will provide an overview of successful commercialization efforts and current technologies they are developing:

This event will take place from 4:30 pm – 8:00 pm at SRI’s International Building, 333 Ravenswood Avenue, Menlo Park, CA 94025 (directions and public transit, parking map).  The registration fee for this event is $20 for pre-registration and $30 at the door (cash only). This fee will be waved for competition entrants who have paid their entry fee. California Clean Tech Open sponsors and partners can attend for free, but should contact innovation@cacleantech.com for special arrangements.

For more information:

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eSolar Receives $130 Million in Funding

eSolar

eSolar, an Idealab company based in Pasadena, CA that produces scalable solar thermal power plants, announced on Monday that it closed $130 million in funding from Idealab, Google.org, Oak Investment Partners, and other investors for the construction and deployment of its pre-fabricated power plants.  In January eSolar received $10 million from Google.org.

"eSolar’s primary business goal is nothing short of making solar electricity for less than the price of coal, without subsidies," said Bill Gross, eSolar Chairman and Founder of Idealab. "This is not only attainable, but will truly change the world."

eSolar’s distributed solar thermal plants are designed to address the complex issues involved in large or utility-scale power projects and are able to achieve economies of scale at 33 MW.  The modular design of these plants have a number of benefits, including requiring minimal land and yielding a low environmental footprint.

"The eSolar™ power plant is based on mass manufactured components, and designed for rapid construction, uniform modularity, and unlimited scalability," said Asif Ansari, CEO of eSolar. "Rather than over-engineering the solution, eSolar’s smart scalable solar architecture targets what we see as the four key business obstacles facing the sector: price, scalability, rapid deployment, and grid impact."

eSolar has secured land rights in the southwest United States to support the production and transmission of over 1 GW of power. eSolar will have a fully operational power plant later this year in southern California.

For more information:

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California Public Utilities Commission Establishes California Institute for Climate Solutions and Provides $600 Million in Funding Over 10 Years

On April 10, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) unanimously voted (5-0) to create and fund a new California Institute for Climate Solutions (CICS).  As described in the CICS charter, its mission is:

To administer grants for mission-oriented, applied and directed research that results in practical technological solutions and supports development of policies likely to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or help California’s electricity and natural gas sectors adapt to the impacts of climate change.

To speed the transfer, deployment, and commercialization of technologies that have the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or otherwise mitigate the impacts of climate change in California.

To facilitate coordination and cooperation among relevant institutions, including private, state, and federal entities, in order to most efficiently achieve mission-oriented, applied and directed research.

The CICS will receive $60 million per year in funding for 10 years via a new surcharge on ratepayer bills. In addition, the CPUC required that 100% of the $600 million ratepayer investment be matched with non-ratepayer funds over the 10-year period.   The CPUC also mandated that a minimum of 85% of the total CICS funding be allocated to competitively awarded grants for applied and directed research and development.

The CICS will have a Governing Board co-chaired by the CPUC President and the University of California President, with seats reserved for the State Senate and Assembly, and the Director of the CPUC’s Division of Ratepayer Advocates. Other members of the board will be come from other state agencies, universities, utilities, private firms, underserved communities, and consumer/environmental advocacy groups.

In commenting on the creation of the CICS California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said:

California leads the nation in aggressively battling global warming with our policies to reduce greenhouse gases and our ambitious energy efficiency and renewable energy goals.  I applaud the CPUC for taking another important step by creating the California Institute for Climate Solutions, which will bring together the state’s preeminent colleges, universities, and laboratories to fight climate change.

For more information:

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2008 California Clean Tech Open Launched; More than $600,000 in Prizes to be Awarded to Entrepreneurs

California Clean Tech Open

On April 2nd, the 3rd annual California Clean Tech Open was officially announced.  The California Clean Tech Open is a business plan competition for early-stage clean technology startups who plan to locate their operations in California. 

There are six categories in the competition:

The winning team in each category will receive a prize package valued at more than $100,000, consisting of:

  • Cash prize of $50,000
  • Office space for one year
  • Legal services
  • Recruiting services
  • Accounting services
  • Public relations services
  • Insurance services
  • Marketing services

In addition to prizes for the winning teams, up to 60 finalist teams will receive a variety of services including mentoring and training.  All competition entrants are able to attend a number of events including an Executive Summary workshop.

The California Clean Tech Open will also be holding a launch event on Wednesday, April 9th, from 4:00 PM to 7:30 PM, at the San Jose City Hall Rotunda.  The event will be hosted by San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed and guests will include previous competition winners and participants, venture capitalists, competition sponsors and partners, state and local government officials, and cleantech entrepreneurs. There is no cost to attend the launch event, but you need to RSVP.

Update: A technology and entrepreneur matching event will take place on May 1.

For more information: