Nevada city actively seeking ecopower development

Carson City, Nevada, has launched a private-public initiative called Team Nevada, with the aim of drawing businesses willing to invest in renewable energy technology.

According to this article, the project also has backing from the Nevada Commission on Economic Development and renewable energy investment engine NV Energy.

From wind to solar to geothermal, Nevada offers a lot of renewable energy potential. To harness this, Nevada is building a 250-mile long grid that runs north-south, enabling renewable energy projects to tap into the delivery system.

Smart states are getting ahead of this trend. Every state has an economic development commission of some sort. Now is the time for state business interests to convince government to establish separate commissions to go after cleantech. Or at least to have working groups within the existing commissions.

Will clean tech continue to bring in venture capital?

Despite the fact that fourth quarter 2008 venture capital for clean tech industries was just $1.7 billion, down from $2.6 billion in the third quarter, forecasters are bullish on the future of clean tech.

This article at inc.com explains that clean tech executives and their investors think the spigots will keep flowing.

To wit, one California firm got $30 million in financing "just days after bankruptcies and fire-sale deals mauled Wall Street in September," according to the article.

The article has some reasons why the future is bright for clean tech, despite lower energy prices.

"Congress recently approved an eight-year extension of the investment tax credit for utility-scale solar projects. President-Elect Barack Obama has pledged a new green economy along with support for alternative energy sources. And a cooperative of 10 Northeastern state governments have agreed to cap carbon emissions beginning this month."

And, even if investors may be looking askance at some clean tech firms for now, clearly the future lies in being more energy efficient on all fronts. Eventually the oil will run out, and so-called clean coal turns out to be not so clean if you live downstream from a coal waste repository, or if you live downwind from coal plants.