Austin, Texas has always been a central location for wind and solar power, fuel cell technology, geothermal and biomass resources, and energy-saving sustainable technologies. It has become a major power player within the global energy industry. It has strong commitments to sustainability and the environment, and is ready to make its mark as the clean energy capital across the globe.

1) Renewable Energy Leader. Through the work of Austin, Texas has constantly been not only a national, but a global leader throughout the energy industry and has been one of the prime leaders in renewable energy. Through the $200 million established by the Emerging Technology Fund, energy has become a priority of the state. Texas uses the most wind power of any state and has been increasing its use of biomass and solar energies as well. Currently, more than 2.5 million homes are provided electricity through wind power.

2) Texas Clean Energy Park. Through a private-public partnership the Texas Clean Energy Park was designed as a clean energy campus, based in Austin, that would be devoted the development and improvement in business, education, research, and training within the clean energy industry. This park will span more than 140 energies and provide housing for renewable energy companies and education and research facilities.

3) Austin Energy. For a leader in clean energy programs and conservation, there is no need to look farther than Austin Energy. Their GreenChoice renewable energy program has been delivering over 750 million kWh electricity to both commercial and residential customers. Austin Energy has been instrumental to putting Austin on the national map as the city with the most 100& green-powered businesses. The Austin Energy Green Power Program has been listed as the first in the nation by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

4) Pecan Street Project. Through Austin Energy, the City of Austin, Austin Chamber, University of Texas, and the Environmental Defense Fund, the Pecan Street Project was developed to create a future sustainable energy system. The goal of this project is to create and execute a system for the generation and management of energy that would be able to generate an amount of energy equal to that of a power plant but from clean sources within the Austin city limits.

5) Talent, Innovation, and Incentives. Many companies involved with cleantech come to Austin because of the benefits provided. For example, many companies involved with PV technologies make their home in Austin because of its semiconductor industry. Austin is known for its large amounts of research, entrepreneurial culture, support services, and venture funding. It provides the tools necessary for cleantech companies to grow. The Wall Street Journal has cited Austin as the third highest inventive city. Austin also provides incentives for emerging technologies. This includes the Emerging Technology Find, the Texas Enterprise Fund, and the Central Texas Regional Center for Innovation and Commercialization.

6) Clean Energy Companies. Austin holds some of the largest, most impressive clean energy companies in the United States. This includes HelioVolt, Xtreme Power, Valence Technology, and Green Mountain Energy.

7) Clean Energy Venture Summit. The city of Austin realized that there needed to be a meeting of individuals from around the world to become educated on the current technologies, challenges, business, and advancements made in the field of clean energy. In 2007, they established the Clean Energy Venture Summit along with Austin Energy, the Clean Energy Incubator, and IC² Institute.

The University of Texas at Austin. The University provides numerous research expenditures to increase research into renewable energy. The Energy Institute at the university has conducted numerous research programs with a multi-disciplinary approach to pinpoint and overcome technological and scientific barriers to a sustainable energy future. The Center for Electromechanics, in conjunction with the Texas State Energy Conservation Office was developed hybrid-electric automobile programs.Lastly, the Center for Electrochemistry has been creating new PV materials that would make solar power competitive with the much utilized fossil fuels. Austin will also be hosting the UT Energy Forum on February 3-4, 2011 and will bring together leading minds from corporations, academics, policy makers and entrepreneurs to discuss cleantech challenges and opportunities” would work.

9) Partners and Customers. Austin provides businesses with a number of possible partners and customers that would be interested in clean air products. The company Freescale Semiconductor has developed chips that provide emissions management for auto power train systems. This provides a more efficient use of fuel. There are also chips available for industrial environments to reduce their overall energy output. The IBM Research Laboratory in Austin has been involved in the Low Power Initiative to create energy efficiency activities.

10) Clean Energy Incubator. Young clean energy companies need to succeed if they are to impart their research, development, and products on the nation and the world looking for energy efficient options. The Clean Energy Incubator gives these companies the resources and facilities needed to get funding and turn their energy efficient ideas into a reality. Their research and development partnership with the university and Austin Energy has provided Clean Air Incubator the opportunity to assist 150 companies get the necessary funding from investors. These companies have been focused on creating technologies for renewable energy, energy management, storage, and efficiency, distributed resources, power quality, and alternative fuels.

“For purposes of this list, we define a cleantech cluster organization as an economic development organization aimed at growing jobs in a specific geographic region. Among a cleantech cluster’s main goals are to promote innovation and investment.

Creating such a cluster is no simple task. First, the right circumstances must be present: A thriving technology base, abundant entrepreneurial and management talent, access to capital, and a proactive environmental public policy. It’s not easy to create, but once in place, a cleantech cluster can, in theory, create thousands of new jobs and attract billions of investment dollars to a region.

Which regions have managed to best attract and leverage these key ingredients to help create the world’s best cleantech cluster organizations? Here’s one observer’s top 10 list:

Austria Eco World Styria, Graz Austria - Eco World Styria bills itself as Europe’s Green Tech Valley. The small region of Styria in Austria is home to more than 150 cleantech companies, of which one dozen are world technology leaders in their field. The cleantech revenue of Styrian companies totals €2.7 billion. This equals to 8 percent of the Gross Regional Product (GRP), and is one of the highest concentrations of leading clean technology companies in Europe. The companies have an average (real) growth rate of 22 percent per year—well above the worldwide cleantech market growth of 18 percent per year. The region created roughly 2,000 additional green jobs in 2008 alone. Among the key reasons for the area’s phenomenal performance: Numerous specialized research centers, a strong tradition of engineering as well as a leading research quota of 4.3 percent of the GRP. That’s why Styria is, despite its small size, one of the largest clusters in Europe. Cluster success stories include: Andritz AG, Komptech, KWB Biomass Heating Systems, Binder+c.

The New England Clean Energy Council, Cambridge Massachusetts – The New England cleantech economy could bring in $1 billion in investment by 2012, the region believes, and the New England Clean Energy Council is at the forefront of this opportunity. Formed in 2007, the council’s mission is to accelerate New England’s clean energy economy and elevate it to a position of global leadership by building an active community of stakeholders and a world-class cluster of clean companies. The council represents nearly 150 members, comprising clean energy companies, venture investors, major financial institutions, local universities and colleges, industry associations, area utilities, labor and large commercial end-users. Its ranks include more than 50 clean energy CEOs, representatives from most of the region’s top 10 law firms, and partners from over a dozen of the region’s top venture capital firms (with a total of over $8 billion under management). Working with its stakeholders, the council develops and executes an array of programs in five key focus areas: Innovation, Growth, Education and Training, Adoption, & Policy. Cluster success stories include: Ze-Gen, Seven Solar, Next Step Living.

Finnish Cleantech Cluster, Lahti Finland – The Finnish Cleantech Cluster is a true Finnish success story. The cluster features access to over 250 Cleantech companies, 60 % of Finland’s Cleantech business and 80 % of Cleantech research in Finland. Lahti Science and Business Park is the coordinator of the Finnish Cleantech Cluster. Among the primary goals of this cluster is to create + 40 new high-growth companies annually, a goal which has already been reached. It also aims to increase Cleantech VC investments to 15% of total investments. In terms of job creation, the Finnish Cleantech Cluster has created + 500 new green job, and the target for this year is more than 900 new positions. Lahti has an excellent overview of the general deal flow, + 100 investment cases, in Finland. The market operations in November 2009 are covering Russia, China with FECC, and India, through the strategic collaboration with YES Bank India. LSBP hosts numerous cleantech investor events annually like cleantech workshops and Cleantech Venture Day. Cluster success stories include Eagle Windpower, EcoCat, Numcore and Green Stream Network.

MaRS, Toronto Canada – Canada’s MaRS is a large scale, mission-driven innovation center located in Toronto and networked across Canada. It is focused on building Canada’s next generation of cleantech companies. Led by Tom Rand, a veteran entrepreneur, policy advocate, and venture capitalist, the Cleantech Practice at MaRS has quickly established itself as the largest Cleantech deal-flow engine in the country. Founded last year, the Canada MaRS Advisory Services team has already worked with over 250 cleantech companies from across the province. MaRS provides business advice and mentorship, market intelligence, entrepreneurship education, seed capital and access to critical talent, customer and partner networks. MaRS brought five of its cleantech stars to the Cleantech Group’s Boston Forum, and will bring five more to this week’s San Francisco Forum. MaRS is the largest cleantech deal-flow engine in Canada. Cluster success stories include:Morgan Solar, NIMTec, Hybrid Energy Technologies, and SkyMeter.

Copenhagen Cleantech Cluster, Copenhagen Denmark – Copenhagen has a stated goal of becoming the world’s first CO2-neutral capital. Danish cleantech solutions are world famous, and Denmark is one of world’s largest exporters of cleantech as measured by GDP. The Copenhagen Cleantech Cluster cluster comprises 40 players, and the aim is to total 200 by 2013. The Copenhagen Cleantech Cluster operates under a $30 million budget financed by the EU, Region Zealand and the Danish Capital Region. It also has a unique set of partners, including Copenhagen Capacity, Scion DTU, Confederation of Danish Industries (DI), Risø DTU, University of Copenhagen as well as a number of municipalities and huge companies including Dong Energy, Vestas, Haldor Topsøe, Novozymes, Siemens and Better Place Denmark. Specific goals include the creation of 1,000 new jobs and 10 public-private sector partnerships, the staging of 200 events, the involvement of more than 200 players as well as collaboration with 15 international Cleantech clusters. Cluster success stories include: Stirling DK, PhotoSolar, EcoXpac and Better Place Denmark.

The CleanTech Center, Syracuse New York – You’ve heard of the big apple. The green apple is Central Upstate New York. With 38 colleges and universities, 138,000 college students, $2 billion in annual funded R&D and a green landscape that supports clean energy production, NY’s “green core” is launching and growing clean tech enterprises. The CleanTech Center at the Syracuse-based Tech Garden, and The Syracuse Center of Excellence in Energy and Environmental Systems are at the forefront of the green innovation movement, supported by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, making it one of the best-funded programs in the U.S. The CleanTech Center is a cutting-edge clean energy incubator that links entrepreneurs, investors and academic researchers, and is also a clearinghouse of information on the cleantech sector in New York State. Successes include: The Paper Battery Company, MicroGen Systems and Earthsense.

CleanTECH San Diego, San Diego, California - With an estimated 650 cleantech companies in the region, San Diego is emerging as a global leader in cleantech. Led by an initiative of San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders, CleanTECH San Diego has developed a comprehensive one-stop-shop and vibrant ecosystem for clean tech companies to accelerate their growth. San Diego already has a track record. Having less than a third the population of Los Angeles, San Diego has installed 60% more solar roofs than its neighbor to the north. In July 2009, San Diego was recognized as the leading solar city in the No. 1 solar state, with over 2,200 rooftop installations and the most solar capacity in the state. Cluster successes include Siliken Renewable Energy, Clear Edge Power, Synthetic Genomics and Sapphire Energy.

Environmental Business Cluster, San Jose, California - Established in 1994, the Environmental Business Cluster (EBC) is a nonprofit technology commercialization center created to assist early stage for‐profit companies developing products or services intended to have a positive impact on the environment. Since 2003, the EBC has specialized in assisting clean energy and emerging energy efficiency companies and has also been working with the California Energy Commission and the National Renewable Energy Lab to provide commercialization services to selected applied research grant recipients. Today, the EBC manages the largest private technology commercialization program for clean energy start‐ups in the United States. The EBC is sponsored by the San Jose Redevelopment Agency in partnership with the San Jose State University Research Foundation. Success stories include GreenVolts, ElectraDrive, Optony, Armageddon Energy, and New Power Technologies.

Stockholms Miljöteknikcenter, Stockholm, Sweden – The Stockholm cleantech sector, including Uppsala to the north and renowned cleantech related research environment Ångströmslab, has created cleantech jobs for some 25,000 employees estimated. The region is also home to an internationally well known sustainable city area in Hammarby Sjöstad (just to the south of downtown Stockholm) and one emerging in nearby Norra Djurgårdsstaden. Stockholm was chosen as Environmental Capital of the year 2010 by the European Comission, and is home to cleantech investors Sustainable Technologies Fund, Northzone, Pegroco Invest and Stora Enso Ventures, and is also home to the office of Cleantech Scandinavia. Cluster success stories include Vertical Wind, Seabased,Chromogenics Sweden, Climatewell, Scandinavian Biogas.

Ontario Clean Water Initiative, Toronto, Ontario – The Ontario Clean Water Initiative is a collaboration of organizations dedicated to developing Ontario as a global center of expertise for safe, clean, affordable and sustainable water and sanitation solutions. Ontario has considerable water related assets, from one of the largest bodies of fresh water in the world to a strong regulatory regime, an internationally recognized research community, and an established track record in world class water tech (e.g. ZENON, acquired by GE, and Trojan Technologies). Over 300 local companies are developing wastewater, water treatment and filtration related products and services. The province is home to 230 relevant university and college programs that produced over 8,200 university graduates related to water sciences in 2007. Entrepreneurs have access to R&D tax credits and specialized water investors such as XPV Capital Corporation, Sustainable Development Technology Canada and Emerald Technology Ventures. Successes include Altech Technology Systems,EnviroTower, UV Pure, Green Turtle and Petro Sep Membrane Technologies.”

Shawn Lesser is the president and founder of Atlanta-based Sustainable World Capital, which is focused on fund-raising for private equity cleantech/sustainable funds, as well as private cleantech companies.

Better Place (www.betterplace.com) was founded just over two years ago with a vision of making EVs affordable and convenient to the mass market. One of the ways they are approaching this is to put a twist on the business model – in addition to battery improvements, Better Place is investing in building an EV infrastructure, and contracting with Renault to build 100,000 EVs, to circumvent the problem of automakers not producing mass market EVs for lack of required infrastructure to support them.

Here is their news:  Almost two years to the day after announcing its first car partnership and its first country deployment in Israel, Better Place today announced that it has signed an agreement with an HSBC-led investor consortium for new equity financing of $350 million. The deal marks one of the largest clean-tech investments in history and values Better Place at $1.25 billion.

This Series B equity financing round features participation from new investors including HSBC, Morgan Stanley Investment Management, and Lazard Asset Management. These investors will join existing Series A investors including Israel Corp., VantagePoint Venture Partners, Ofer Hi-Tech Holdings, Morgan Stanley Principal Investments, and Maniv Energy Capital, among others, as shareholders of Better Place. For HSBC, which led the round with an investment of $125 million, the deal represents one of the largest financial investments of its kind by HSBC.

As part of the deal, Kevin Adeson, HSBC Head of Global Capital Financing, will join the Better Place Board of Directors, and HSBC will own approximately 10% of the company’s shares.

“Today marks the end of an extensive process with the outcome being a decision by one of the world’s largest, most conservative banks, HSBC, to take the validating step of investing in a private company intent on bringing innovation to the trillion-dollar automotive and energy industries,” said Shai Agassi, Better Place Founder and Chief Executive Officer. “The strong investment commitment and global relationships that HSBC, Morgan Stanley Investment Management and Lazard Asset Management bring to the table combined with the continuing confidence from our original investors enables us to scale up globally and execute against our plan.”

In welcoming Adeson to the Board, Idan Ofer, Chairman of Better Place and Israel Corp., remarked, “Kevin and the entire HSBC team will bring more than just capital to the table. We expect that HSBC will help us to scale in Europe, China and beyond, and we’re already seeing the value that they are bringing to the company and the Board.”

Stuart Gulliver, Executive Director, HSBC Holdings and Chief Executive of Global Banking and Markets, said, “We believe the switch from internal combustion engine vehicles to electric vehicles will create future growth opportunities in the auto and utility industries, and we are delighted to take the opportunity of investing in Better Place to put HSBC at the heart of these developments. Better Place is a private-sector solution to the issue of infrastructure provision for electric cars and can succeed without government subsidy and without sacrificing consumer expectations for personal mobility.”

Better Place’s new board member, Kevin Adeson of HSBC, commented: “We are confident that Better Place has the technical and commercial solutions to allow for the mass adoption of electric cars in the near term. The Better Place switchable battery solution, which addresses the range limitation of fixed battery electric cars, will offer the consumer an affordable and attractive alternative to current combustion engine and hybrid vehicles. We expect the Better Place model to be widely adopted across many countries and cities, particularly in those markets with policies strongly favoring electric vehicle adoption.”

The financing allows Better Place to expand its geographic footprint while continuing to execute against its committed R&D and deployment milestones. The company intends to expand into markets where the business model economics and investor returns are optimized, notably in Europe and Asia.

Better Place continues to meet its timetable for Israel and Denmark launch plans for the end of 2011 when the first Renault switchable battery electric cars hit the road. Better Place also will continue to execute against its strategy of early deployment projects in Australia and select North American markets a few months after the Israel and Denmark launches as planned.

Additionally, the company’s R&D team is currently testing each element of the Better Place solution in real-life scenarios around the world in a multi-phase cycle, beginning with the company’s managed EV network in Denmark, which began last December, and a Tokyo electric taxi project with battery switch station, which kicks off in April this year. These and other development milestones lead up to full-scale trials in the second half of 2010 and commercial launch in 2011.

Agassi added: “Our technology and solutions, together with our strong partnership with Renault, provide us at least a two-year time advantage over all other alternative energy vehicle approaches. Our solution is the only one that can scale to decrease countries’ oil consumption and significantly reduce emissions, while providing consumers with electric cars that are more convenient and affordable than internal combustion engine cars.”

The transaction is subject to approval by antitrust regulators and other customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2010.

The American Wind Energy Association, in its annual report to be released on Tuesday, said the amount of capacity added last year, 9,900 megawatts, was the largest on record, and was 18 percent above the capacity added in 2008, also a banner year. The group said the growth of wind power was helped by the federal stimulus package that passed a year ago, which extended a tax credit and provided other investment incentives for the industry.

But the group warned that the growth could slow. Much of the wind development in 2009 was caused by momentum from 2008, as huge turbines ordered then were delivered to wind farms. In 2009, the recession idled many manufacturers and new orders weakened, which could portend an installation slowdown this year.

“The U.S. wind industry shattered all installation records in 2009, and this was directly attributable to the lifeline that was provided by the stimulus package,” said Denise Bode, the trade association’s chief executive. “The second half of the year was extraordinary. But manufacturers didn’t see much growth because they had built up so much inventory.” About as much new power-generating capacity came from wind as from natural gas last year, Ms. Bode said. Together, new wind and natural gas projects accounted for about 80 percent of all new generating capacity added in the country.

The wind industry has undergone rapid growth in recent years. Since 2002, the country’s installed base of wind turbines has jumped almost sevenfold. Even so, the American industry has lagged behind Europe, which gets about 5 percent of its electricity from wind. The European Commission has set an ambitious mandate to achieve 20 percent of electrical production from wind and other renewable sources by 2020. Denmark has essentially achieved that goal already, and sometimes produces more wind power than it can use.

Last year, China also outlined plans to more than double the country’s wind capacity by the end of this year by investing $14.6 billion, with rapid growth planned through the end of the decade. Concerns about global warming have sparked interest in renewable power in the United States and spurred the creation of a domestic manufacturing industry that now employs 85,000 people. Today, about half the components used in wind farms are made in the United States, compared with 25 percent in 2004, the trade group said. Much of the growth is attributable to state laws that mandate that a portion of the local power come from renewable sources.

But many hurdles remain in getting to 10 or 20 percent wind power nationally. Wind investors have called for long-distance transmission lines between the nation’s wind-intensive regions, mostly in the Great Plains and Texas, and its biggest population centers, mostly on the coasts. The lack of such transmission is seen as a major obstacle to further expansion. “It is not a question of lack of resources,” said Tim Stephure, an analyst at Emerging Energy Research, a consulting firm in Cambridge, Mass. “Unlike the federal highway system or the national gas system, there is a huge lack of federal oversight for electricity. This is something that will take time, while the need for the industry is now.”

Still, the potential for wind is enormous. Mr. Stephure said that by 2020, wind’s installed capacity could be five times higher than it is today, reaching about 180,000 megawatts. The industry has also called on Congress to pass a federal mandate requiring that a certain percentage of power come from renewable sources. Such mandates are already in place throughout the European Union and in China. In the United States, 29 states have adopted such a renewable power standard. “The wind manufacturing sector has the potential to employ many more Americans in green jobs, but without a renewable electricity standard to provide a long-term market, the sector will be slow to grow,” the trade group said in its report. The nation’s wind turbines generate enough electricity to power the equivalent of 9.7 million homes, according to the report. Last year, Texas consolidated its lead as the nation’s top wind producer, with a total capacity of 9,410 megawatts, about three times more than the second-largest producer, Iowa. They were followed by California, Washington and Minnesota.

The Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth (DELEG) in partnership with the State of Michigan Council for Labor and Economic Growth (CLEG) was awarded a State Energy Sector Partnership (SESP) and Training grant by the U.S. Department of Labor through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act).

“This investment will train a thousand Michigan workers for green, in-demand jobs in our state,” Granholm said.  “These workers will be involved in the fields of advanced battery production, solar energy and energy-efficient building construction.”

The State Energy Sector Partnership Training grant will provide additional resources to implement Governor Granholm’s Green Jobs Initiative, and support key partnerships between industry, labor, and workforce organizations focused on providing skilled workers for the renewable energy and energy efficiency industries in Michigan.  These Regional Project Teams are organized around three industry sectors:  Advanced Energy Storage, Solar Energy, and Energy Efficient Construction.  Industry employers and partners have committed to hiring more than 1,000 workers trained through this Recovery Act grant.

Advanced Energy Storage – Michigan will leverage its partnership with advanced energy storage employers and the $1.36 billion recently awarded by U.S. Department of Energy grants to create an Advanced Battery Skills Alliance in Southeast Michigan. This alliance will provide undergraduate and/or graduate level training and placement assistance to meet the workforce needs of a variety of Advanced Energy Storage employers and a range of occupations including: design, development and test engineers and technicians, assemblers, technologists, and engineers across several concentrations.

Solar Energy – Two solar project teams, one in Southeast Michigan and a second in Mid-Michigan, will assist in training chemical process technicians, solar engineering technicians and installers.

Energy Efficient Construction – The energy efficient construction-focused Regional Project Team is located in the Flint-area, and includes Genesee and Shiawassee counties.  Participant training will lead, in most cases, to certificates in Green Construction and Sustainable Construction, an Associates degree, and/or trade apprenticeship opportunities.

“Michigan has been at the forefront nationally in the effort to promote a new clean energy economy and programs leading to good jobs,” said DELEG Director Stanley “Skip” Pruss. “This award will connect Michigan workers to jobs and career pathways in targeted industries, helping to simultaneously advance the State’s integrated energy, workforce and economic development vision and supporting programs.”

“This grant demonstrates the Obama administration’s strong support for Michigan’s Green Jobs Initiative,” said Andy Levin, Chief Workforce Officer and DELEG deputy director. “This grant will lead to the direct creation of more than a thousand green jobs.”

The U.S. Department of Labor issued 34 awards nationwide – ranging from approximately $2 million to $6 million each – to State Workforce Investment Boards (SWIBs) in partnership with their State Workforce Agency, local Workforce Investment Boards or regional consortia of Boards, and One Stop Career Center delivery systems.

“Our State Workforce Investment Board has played a central role in acquiring this grant,” said John Mogk, CLEG chair. “We are excited to help build Michigan’s green economy.”

The Council for Labor and Economic Growth is the state’s workforce investment board and it is a private sector-led advisory body to the Governor and DELEG on workforce policy.

For more information on Michigan’s Green Jobs Initiative, visit: www.michigan.gov/greenjobs

Through the Energy Training Partnership Grants being administered by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration, 25 projects ranging from approximately $1.4 to $5 million each will receive grants. These grants are built on strategic partnerships — requiring labor and business to work together.

“Today’s announcement is part of the administration’s long-term commitment to fostering both immediate economic revitalization and a clean energy future. It’s an investment that will help American workers succeed while doing good,” said Secretary Solis. “Our outstanding award recipients were selected because their proposed projects will connect workers to career pathways in green industries and occupations through critical, diverse partnerships.”

Training activities funded through this grant program will be individually tailored based on occupations and skills identified as in demand in local areas around the country. Training programs will seek to prepare workers for a range of careers including: hybrid/electric auto technicians, weatherization specialists, wind and energy auditors, and solar panel installers.

Grant recipients are expected to work in conjunction with a diverse range of partners, including labor organizations, employers and workforce investment boards. Bringing together the workforce expertise of these groups will allow grantees to develop programs that are responsive to the needs of both workers and employers, and that provide participants with the support needed to successfully complete training. The grantees will utilize these partnerships to design and distribute training approaches that lead to portable industry credentials and employment, including career opportunities in registered apprenticeship programs.

These grants are part of a larger Recovery Act initiative — totaling $500 million — to fund workforce development projects that promote economic growth by preparing workers for careers in the energy efficiency and renewable energy industries. The Department of Labor expects to release funding for two remaining green grant award categories over the next several weeks.

Deals from 2009 that point to a growing solar industry this year include the acquisition of Solel, a solar thermal power components vendor, by Siemens for $418 million, and MEMC’s purchase of Sun Edison, a “solar Power Purchase Agreement pioneer” for $200 million.

Bill Roth, author of The Green Secret Sauce and founder of EARTH 2017, predicts that Solar prices will continue to decline while consumer demand will continue to grow, eventually creating “a future where solar power will be price competitive without subsidies.” This trend leads Roth to believe that cleantech will be “a $10 trillion global annual revenue sustainable economy by 2017.” Other than solar, VC investments have branched out into 19 different cleantech investment categories. Batteries, for example, attracted $455 million in 2009, invested in 36 different companies.

The Michigan city won out over Corpus Christi because of its proximity to a large, new polysilicone production plant, a cell manufacturing plant and a supply of skilled, unemployed auto workers, said Kathy Mussio, a managing partner for Atlas Insight, the consulting site selector. Saginaw is a city of 57,500 about 100 miles northwest of Detroit. “Michigan and especially Saginaw Valley is in an established supply chain that GlobalWatt could become an integral piece of,” said Mussio.

See the news video here:http://www.wnem.com/video/21977415/index.html

Michigan offered GlobalWatt $14 million of incentives to encourage the company to come to Michigan over Corpus Christi. In addition, the Saginaw City Council approved $10 million of incentives for the company.  According to the Saginaw News, GlobalWatt will locate its production facility at the vacant 74,000-square-foot Enterprise Automotive Systems. The company will start moving equipment into the building sometime in the first quarter of 2010 and begin hiring shortly thereafter, with the help of Michigan Works.

Sanjeev Chitre, chairman and chief executive officer of GlobalWatt, said the decision to locate in Saginaw largely was based on the other solar-related investments in the area. Chitre said the fact the company could move into an existing building was among the leading factors in its decision. “Of all the buildings we looked at, this one best suited us,” Chitre said. “We don’t have to wait six or nine months to construct a new building. We can start right away.”

Corpus Christi offered GlobalWatt $2.8 million in incentives for the proposed plant. If it came to Corpus Christi, the company planned to forge a research partnership with Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. GlobalWatt hasn’t eliminated Corpus Christi from consideration permanently, Mussio said. “We are still looking at Corpus Christi and we are hoping to be able to do something in Corpus Christi in the future,” she said. “The people down in Corpus Christi and the economic development team have been very supportive. We’re hopeful and seeing how we can still set something up down there.”

Economic analysis by the Michigan Economic Development Corp. estimates the GlobalWatt facility will generate a total of 2,768 jobs, including 500 direct jobs, by the year 2016. The plant will produce modules, or panels, made of crystalline cells that can be used to build solar energy farms and to power individual buildings.

“Just a few short weeks ago I was in Finland on a tour of some of the country’s most innovative technology companies. I have to admit I felt, oh, a bit 20th century as I listened to engineers and entrepreneurs talking about the Finns’ pioneering work in everything from nano-engineered solar coatings to “printed batteries,” paper-plastic hybrid materials to wireless device chargers.

Finland is busy developing an expertise in super-wonky technologies of the 21st century, and because the government has an aggressive program that specifically funds R & D for new startups, there is a plethora of new companies to watch in 2010.

I wasn’t sure which to highlight so I turned to cleantech guru Shawn Lesser of Sustainable World Capital. Shawn has done an amazing job in the past of predicting top cleantech companies AND cleantech countries, so I asked him to pick the top 10 most innovative Finnish companies to watch in 2010.  Here’s his list (of 11):

• BaseN — sub/smart metering: large scale infrastructure monitoring & management for energy, gas and water.
• Canatu develops and sells new components based on carbon nanotubes epaper, OLED & electronics.
• Braggone — coating materials for solar glass and solar cells, operations in Finland and Asia.
• Beneq sells and develops equipment and technology for functional coating applications, 50 percent for solar applications.
• Proventia sells and develops emission control solutions for vehicle, power plants and ships.
• Powerkiss – wireless charging solution for Nokias, Apples, mini-USBs and netbooks.
• Liqum – scalable liquid quality monitoring technology.
• The Switch – power electronics for energy efficiency, converters and generators.
• Forchem – tall oil technology and manufacturing.
• Picodeon – technology for ColdLab coating materials, scalable for several applications like electronics and solar.
• Enfucell – Technology for printed batteries and small power sources.

With the wide array of materials and technologies now funded and in production, 2010 may be Finland’s breakthrough year in clean technology.”