Monday, April 14, 2008

N.E. Clean Energy Council forges federal ties

By Efrain Viscarolasaga

The New England Clean Energy Council, minted just six months ago at the behest of Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, has already built a key relationship at the federal level, one it hopes could lead to the creation of new businesses in the Bay State.

Next week, the council is sending a contingent of local venture capitalists to Colorado, where the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Research Lab leads the DOE's efforts in alternative energy technologies such as fuel cells, biofuel, solar and wind power.

The trip is intended to expose investors to projects and tech that may one day bear fruit as commercialized products in Massachusetts, as well as establish lines of communication between the national R&D facility and local investors and entrepreneurs.

"(Investors) should come back with crucial exposure to NREL and an idea of the technology transfer process," said Nick d'Arbeloff, executive director of the New England Clean Energy Council. "They should come back with a Rolodex full of people they can talk to and be able to move forward with some of the technologies without added help."

The clean energy council has also been working closely with Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Ian Bowles and the state Legislature, as demonstrated by the $50 million Green Jobs bill introduced by House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi last month. The bill includes a $25 million seed-grant program for startup companies, a workforce development program through local colleges and a fellowship program that would train entrepreneurs to build energy-sector businesses.

The council, which is backed by a number of local venture capital firms, was formed last year after Patrick encouraged the then-segmented local clean energy industry to develop a unified voice. The New England Energy Innovation Collaborative (NEEIC) merged with the Clean Energy Council last September and officially launched as the NECEC in October.

Since then, the group has developed a 24-person board of directors and brought in a number of sponsors, including many of the venture capital firms that used to be part of NEEIC. Originally led by co-executive directors Annie Johnson and d'Arbeloff, Johnson left her post recently, though she is expected to remain on several committees.

More to accomplish

While the group has achieved a lot in its short tenure, there is more to do, according to officials. A study by the council and the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC) last fall showed Massachusetts-based financial institutions investing more than $2 billion in clean energy technologies, but more than half of it went to companies and technologies out of state.

"There's a huge amount of capital flowing out of our financial services sector, but most of it is flowing out of state, and the local system isn't getting what it needs to grow," said d'Arbeloff.

NREL already has a vested interest in this region, as the lab announced in November that one of two wind blade testing facilities in the country would be located in Charlestown. The MTC approved the project last month, allocating more than $18 million in grants to go along with NREL's $2 million in funding.

History of helping

While NREL hosts such tours with a variety of corporate and government groups on a regular basis, state economic development groups -- particularly those from states aggressively trying to build clean energy clusters such as California, Texas, Colorado and Ohio -- have become more common of late.

"We've had a long history of trying to help develop new markets, and that's what our cooperation with economic development outlets is all about," said George Douglas, a spokesman for NREL. "We also feel that a certain role for us is to be a neutral party in the development of technology. So if you're an investor, part of your due diligence is to talk to us."

Besides members of the council and local VCs, Bowles' office will also be represented on the trip, according to Bowles, who has worked closely with both the council and the Department of Energy.

"I think it is an important message for the DOE that building relationships with the venture community is important," said Bowles.