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Clean Energy Technologies For more information about our capabilities or to confidentially request information or a site search in our region, contact Jose Beceiro, Director, Clean Energy Initiatives, at 512.322.5611 or jbeceiro@austinchamber.com. Jose will be at several industry conferences around the country during 2008. See our Calendars page for more information.

Whether you’re working with solar or wind power, fuel cells, biomass and geothermal resources, biofuels or sustainable energy-saving technologies, Austin is the right place, and now is the right time, to plug in to the clean energy industry.

As the capital of Texas, Austin offers unmatched access to the power players of the global energy industry. A community with a strong commitment to the environment, sustainability and quality of life, Austin is ready and willing to make its mark as the clean energy capital of the world. The private and public sectors, local utilities, major energy users, nonprofits and educational institutions are all working together to put Austin at the center of the clean energy map. In fact, Austin is No. 1 in both SustaineLane Government’s Cleantech incubation ranking and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s green power program ranking.

A recognized center of technology innovation, Austin has the infrastructure and talent to support pioneering clean energy efforts. From major manufacturing to services and start-ups, Austin is a proven location for the knowledge-based economy.

"We are committed to purchasing and generating renewable energy. We feel it’s vital to our economy and our environment to develop and implement clean energy. We look forward to the opportunity to purchase plug-in hybrids for our transportation needs.”
—Will Wynn, Mayor of Austin

"Austin’s long time support of clean energy and conservation, along with the growing coordination of angel and regional venture groups across Texas, made it clear to us that Austin was the right spot to establish AccuWater. "
—Tom Watson, CEO of AccuWater

The State of Texas has for a century been the national and global leader in the energy industry. As the world looks forward to a future beyond fossil fuels, Texas is committed to leading the way in renewable energy.

• The state’s $200 million Emerging Technology Fund establishes energy as a state funding priority.
• For three years, Texas has been the largest generator of wind power in the nation and has enormous capacity to increase production from wind, solar and biomass sources. As of April 2007, Texas installed enough wind generating capacity to power approximately one million homes.
• The state General Land Office, which manages Texas’ vast public lands and offshore claims, has made developing more and better renewable resources a top priority.
• A 2005 law sets Texas’ statewide goals for generating capacity from renewable energy at 5,880 MW by 2015 and 10,000 MW by 2025, including 500 MW from a renewable source other than wind energy.

Austin Energy, the municipally-owned utility, is a recognized national leader in conservation and clean energy programs.

• GreenChoice is the nation’s largest and most successful retail renewable energy program delivering more than 665 million kWh of electricity annually to residential and commercial customers. Nearly 500 Austin businesses use GreenChoice power, as does Austin Independent School District and Austin City Hall.
• Austin Energy has ranked first in the nation for its Green Power Program for six consecutive years by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The ranking is based on total renewable energy sales.
• The city’s Green Building Program, another nationally ranked program, raises the bar on sustainability and energy efficiency in new construction of all kinds.
• Austin Energy has plans to build the renewables’ share of Austin’s energy portfolio to 30 percent by 2020 and to build solar power’s share to 100MW by 2020.
• Aggressive rebates are in place for consumers and businesses for energy saving appliances, photovoltaic systems, high efficiency lighting, solar hot water systems, energy miser products and radio frequency thermostats.

A public-private partnership has initiated the first Texas Clean Energy Park as an Austin-based clean energy campus dedicated to development and innovation in business, research, education, and training for the clean energy industry. The first phase of the development is a research park funded by a grant from the Texas Workforce Commission to the Texas Foundation for Innovative Communities. The second phase will be a business park for companies in fields such as solar power, renewable energy materials and energy-saving technologies. The 140-acre park will be a collaborative community for renewable energy companies, research and education facilities developing efficient new clean energy technologies side by side with innovative alpplications.

• Active Power’s flywheel storage systems store kinetic energy for short-term backup power — providing reliable battery-free power supply solutions.
• Austin Biofuels has joined with Triple S Petroleum to expand the supply of vegetable-oil based fuel for fleet and commercial customers. The National Biodiesel Board ranked Austin as having the highest concentration of retail biodiesel in the nation in 2006.
• AccuWater delivers product and internet-based services that enable property owners to optimize landscape irrigation using modeling and local weather conditions. AccuWater received funding from the Central Texas Angel Network in 2007. They are a graduate of Clean Energy Incubator.
• Advanced Micro Devices’ (AMD) new Lone Star Campus in southwest Austin is striving for a Gold LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council through features such as one of the largest roof-based rainwater collection and recycling systems in the world, as well as using 100 percent renewable energy from the Austin Energy’s GreenChoice program and recycling 75% of waste from construction.
• In early 2008, the Clean Technology & Sustainable Industries Organization (CTSI), a not-for-profit industry trade organization committed to the commercialization and global adoption of clean technologies and sustainable industry practices, designated Austin as the organization's new global headquarters.
• CleanFUEL USA in Georgetown, Texas has established itself as the leading global manufacturer of certified and alternative fuel equipment for both propane and E-85.
• HelioVolt, founded in Austin four years ago, raised venture funding for the development of solar-enabled power-generating building materials (BIPV), created by coating substrates such as metal roofing, architectural glass and polymeric membranes with thin film photovoltaic integrated circuits (PVICs). HelioVolt's first full-scale solar manufacturing plant, an investment of $80 million, will be in Austin, creating 150 jobs and occupying 125,000 square feet in southeast Austin.
• Xtreme Power, a 2007 recipient of the Texas ETF ($2,000,000), provides power systems to utilities and large energy users resulting in energy conservation.
• TECO-Westinghouse Motor Co. formed a partnership with California-based Composite Technology Corp., a wind turbine company, to produce next generation technology for wind turbines at TECO-Westinghouse’s facility in Round Rock.

Austin is not only a dynamic business destination; our workforce is a dynamic business asset. It’s all about the people, and the labor pool in Austin is by far one of the most innovative, youthful and educated in the country.

Also, one of the primary reasons why solar photovoltaic (PV) technology companies are migrating to Austin, is due to our well-established semiconductor industry and the vast similarities that exist between semiconductor and PV technologies. PV startup companies are finding that Austin, Texas has available semiconductor talent on which to draw.

Austin is a world-renowned technology region founded on outstanding university-based research, an entrepreneurial culture, venture funding, a broad array of support services and a rich pool of intellectual talent and leadership — providing business a framework for innovation and growth.

In 2007, over 2,100 patents were assigned to inventors in Austin. Over the past five years, Austin’s patent activity outpaced the national rate and clearly showed Austin’s competitiveness as a location for research and innovation. In 2006, the Wall Street Journal ranked Austin third among the nation’s most inventive cities.

As a world-class research institution, the University of Texas at Austin has annual research expenditures of more than $411 million, with engineering research dollars exceeding $137 million. UT-Austin’s Electrical and Computer Engineering Department has ranked as one of the top 10 in the country for more than a decade, while the University ranks in the top 10 nationally for the number of science and engineering doctoral degrees.

• The UT Center for Electromechanics is leading the nation in hydrogen research by steam-refining natural gas to produce hydrogen, and along with Texas' State Energy Conservation Office, has organized an electric and hybrid-electric vehicle program in Texas — four interdependent projects to develop efficient low-cost homopolar electric vehicle traction motors, large and small flywheel batteries and hybrid electric railroad locomotives.
• Scientists and engineers at UT have begun a three-year, $750,000 study of the impact of climate change and land-use patterns on the release of airborne chemicals from plants, a studied process believed to affect statewide smog production.
• UT has already patented an inexpensive metallic fuel cell electrocatalyst that will soon be market ready.
• The UT Bureau of Economic Geology is researching the development of integrated gasification and combined cycle power generation.

Austin Community College (ACC) offers an expanding array of renewable energy training and education programs.

• Industry certification courses include "Solar Electric Systems, Entry-Level" and "Advanced Solar Photovoltaic Installer," both of which prepare students for North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners certification exams.
• College credit certificate and degree programs include an associate of applied science degree in electronics and advanced technologies with renewable energy specialization.
• ACC is also currently developing a series of short professional continuing education courses designed to expand the skills and knowledge of individuals currently working in the renewable energy field.

Imagine a gasoline at less than one dollar a gallon — that’s what it would cost to power the car that charges its electric battery from your household electrical outlet. Austin is leading a national campaign of Plug-In Partners to create the demand for mass production of a plug-in hybrid vehicle capable of triple-digit fuel economy and up to 35 miles of all-electric driving. Austin’s template for demonstrating to automakers that a market exists today for plug-in hybrids has been widely adopted.

The Clean Energy Incubator (CEI) offers an environment dedicated to helping young clean energy companies succeed. The CEI provides the resources and facilities necessary for start-ups to attract funding, aggressively compete in the free market and turn ideas into reality. Through their R&D partnership with the University of Texas and an active collaboration with forward-looking Austin Energy, CEI has helped 150 companies to receive more than $780 million from investors. Graduates include early-stage companies focusing on the development of commercialization of proprietary technology in areas including renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy management, distributed resources, energy storage, fuel cells, microturbines, power quality, alternative fuels and transportation.

In 2007, Austin hosted the inaugural Clean Energy Venture Summit, a partnership with Austin Energy, UT’s IC² Institute and the Clean Energy Incubator. More than 400 attendees from across the globe came to Austin to learn about the latest technologies, businesses, challenges and advancements for clean energy.

Austin offers a wealth of potential partners and high-value customers for clean energy products and services. Austin’s status as a high-tech mecca is reflected every day in the constant innovation and creativity of our unmatched educated workforce.

• Applied Materials’ Austin production line will feature new tandem cell technology — an innovative dual-junction approach that combines an amorphous silicon top film to absorb short wavelengths of light with a microcrystalline silicon bottom layer to absorb longer wavelengths. These tandem cells are expected to deliver significant energy efficiencies at a cost per Watt that is comparable to that of single junction technologies. Their new solar array, completed this summer, is the largest in Austin.
• Freescale Semiconductor produces chips in Austin for auto power train systems that help manage emissions and make fuel usage more efficient, as well as sensor chips that reduce energy use in industrial environments.
• IBM’s Pervasive Computing Advanced Technology Lab in Austin has created a “home of the future” where appliances respond to voice and electronic signals and track energy consumption.

SustainLane Government analyzed US cities to see which led in combining Cleantech investments, infrastructure and supportive policies into a physical “cluster.” The ideal existing model for a Cleantech incubation cluster combines start-up or advanced stage venture capital and investor network access, including mentoring, Academic or federal research lab collaboration and active state or local government participation (field testing, prototyping, and pilot programs) and incentives. (Sustainlane Government, 2/07)

The Emerging Technology Fund (ETF), along with other incentives programs such as the Texas Enterprise Fund, provides financial benefits to businesses creating high quality new jobs in Texas. The Central Texas Angel Network (CTAN) and The Central Texas Regional Center for Innovation and Commercialization (CenTex RCIC) offer funding and expertise for early stage technology companies. A variety of state and local tax exemption and tax credit programs are also available, including a complete exemption from the Texas franchise tax for solar energy businesses.

Many “Best of” lists attest to the incomparable quality of life found in Austin. The Best Place for Business and Careers. The Best City for Singles. The Best City for Relocating Families. The Live Music Capital of the World. Ask anyone who lives here and they’ll tell you it’s as good as advertised. We have it all — highly rated public school districts, entertainment venues for the outdoor type and the art lover, home to rock climbers, Tour de France champions, rock and rollers, movie stars, theater lovers, and the cream of the creative class.

October 29, 2008, Scholz Garten, 1607, San Jacinto St.: Solar Energy Entrepreneurs Network
November 9-11, 2008, Omni Austin Hotel Southpark: Texas Renewables 2008
November 19, 2008, J.J. Pickle Research Campus: CleanTX Forum: Algae: Pond Powered Biofuels
December 1-3, Austin Convention Center: Clean Energy Venture Summit 2008