Clean energy park gets $600,000

Gov. Rick Perry gave $600,000 to the Texas Foundation for Innovative Communities to develop a Texas Clean Energy Park in Austin.

The money will fund the first phase of the park, which would house clean energy business, research, education and training facilities. The grant comes from federal workforce training funds through the Texas Workforce Commission.

"Texas is committed to creating a diverse energy portfolio that provides stability and reduces dependence on foreign energy," Perry says. "Developing alternative energy sources through Texas-based research is of tremendous value to a fast-growing state like Texas and to our nation as a whole."

The initial phases will serve as a workforce development initiative by providing teaching skills in the area of clean-energy technology.