Also known as green tech, it could be a very large part of our future, and that is a very good thing.
Editorial: Is our region ready to be a clean-tech mecca?
Local actions will determine whether companies want to make their home here
Published 12:00 am PDT Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Unless you are awakening from a Rip Van Winkle nap, you've probably noticed that the hottest field of California business is the so-called "clean-tech" sector.
Clean tech is a catchall term for small and large businesses devoted to alternative power, energy efficiency, green building products and environmental technologies. In the first quarter of this year, U.S. venture capitalists invested $264 million in 23 clean-tech deals, with much of that capital flowing to and from California businesses -- for obvious reasons.
More than any other state, California has passed laws to encourage sustainable energy and development practices. The state's global warming law, its renewable energy standard and its solar initiatives are just some of the measures driving entrepreneurs to innovate and market new practices and products.
Clean-tech businesses want to be in states that are putting their environmental platitudes into action, and possess a base of interested customers. It also helps that California has numerous universities and financiers to help these firms grow.
The Sacramento area is a beneficiary of this emerging boom. Since 2005, the number of clean-tech firms in the region has grown from 29 to about 75, according to the Sacramento Area Regional Technology Alliance.
