energy

Oregon
Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski has unveiled a suite of policies to address global climate change and support the state's renewable energy and clean technology industries. His proposals include instituting a cap and trade system for carbon emissions, improving the energy efficiency of commercial and residential construction, and tax credits for energy-conscious investments. The governor hopes to see the climate plan passed by the legislature in the coming year.

Though the U.S. Treasury's initial proposal for a bailout of the financial sector was only three pages when it was first submitted to Congress, federal legislators did not waste time in expanding its scope. The $700 billion emergency stabilization package, passed early this month, eventually swelled to more than 400 pages. One of the largest additions to the bill was a new section extending incentives for alternative and renewable energy. 

Bank bailouts may be capturing all of the headlines, but a new initiative from the European Union (EU) promises to inject a considerable pool of money during the downturn to accelerate the development of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. The European Commission, as well as participants from the European research community and industry will contribute nearly 1 billion Euros (U.S. $1.28 billion) to the public-private partnership over the next six years to fund research. Stakeholders believe that this effort will help speed the commercialization of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies by two to five years, and are hoping for a mass-market rollout of these technologies before 2020.

Even in the venture capital-rich state of California during a boom period for clean energy investment, some clean energy entrepreneurs still have a hard time finding the capital resources they desire. As a result, one non-profit venture capital group, with a unique history of its own, is launching a new effort to support early-stage businesses. The California Clean Energy Fund (CalCEF) is currently helping to raise a $20 million angel fund to bridge a perceived gap in seed and start-up stage capital availability. Despite the rapid growth of clean energy investment in the past two years, CalCEF believes that early-stage investment is not yet sufficient to ensure a steady stream of high-quality investments at later stage of development.

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick recently signed two bills to improve the commonwealth's standing as a leader in environmental protection and to support the growth of the clean technology industry.  Supporters of the Global Warming Solutions Act and the Green Jobs Act believe that the legislation will position Massachusetts as a recognized center for cleantech policy and business.

This afternoon, Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell signed a $650 million package of tax incentives, loans and grants to spur the development and use of clean energy technologies within the state. The governor believes that the bill will help the state leverage as much as $3.5 billion in private investment and help the state build a stronger clean energy industry. Highlights from the Alternative Energy Investment Act include:

Gov. Jennifer Granholm today signed legislation creating Centers of Energy Excellence, a program designed to bring companies, academic institutions, and the state together to create jobs in alternative and advanced energy. The initiative, passed with overwhelming bipartisan support, is part of an overall job creation and economic stimulus package proposed by the governor in her State of the State address earlier this year (see the Jan. 30, 2008 issue of the Digest).
 
To be administered through the Michigan Economic Development Corp., the Centers of Energy Excellence will support the development, growth and sustainability of alternative energy industry clusters in Michigan by identifying and/or locating a base company in a geographic region with the necessary business and supply-chain infrastructure. These centers will match the base company with universities, national labs and training centers to accelerate next-generation research, workforce development and commercialization.   
 
Under the new law, which is effective immediately, the Michigan Strategic Fund (MSF) is authorized to allocate up to $45 million from the 21st Century Jobs Trust Fund to establish and operate the program. Grants will be made available to for-profit companies that meet the following criteria:

National Governors Association
Twelve states recently received grants of $50,000 from the National Governors Association (NGA) Center for Best Practices to support clean energy initiatives and to overcome obstacles preventing the adoption of clean energy technologies in their region. The awards were made through NGA’s Clean Energy State Grant Program, a part of the association’s Securing a Clean Energy Future Initiative. Several companies and foundations, including American Electric Power, Dominion Resources, The Ford Motor Company and The Rockefeller Fund, have provided financial support for the grants, which are intended to fund state projects that support research, analysis, training or outreach to advance clean energy implementation.
Highlights from the list of awardees include:

The U.S. Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation recently announced that the U.S. had completed its contribution to the international Large Hadron Collider (LHC) Project on budget and ahead of schedule. By the end of the year, the LHC at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) laboratory near Geneva will generate its first particle collisions and research output. Total U.S. contribution to the project is about $531 million of the $5.89 billion cost of the project. Although the U.S. is not a CERN member state, U.S. scientists will comprise the largest contingent from any single nation.

This summer, 12 former CEOs with substantial experience in raising venture capital and no particular ties to clean energy will participate in an extensive curriculum-based fellowship program designed to rapidly transition them into a leadership role, in order to help grow the cleantech cluster in the New England region.