OregonStartups.com News

Clean Tech in Hood River

From John Cook's Venture Blog: Entrepreneur mulls clean tech incubator Allen Barteld is now leading the charge to set up a new incubator in Hood River, Oregon, fashioned after Y-Combinator. It could provide initial funding and support to as many as 10 wind, solar and other clean tech startup companies each year. There are challenges, as noted in Cook's article:

Of course, plenty of hurdles exist in transferring (the Y-Combinator) model to clean tech companies. For one, Barteld has never operated an incubator and has virtually no experience in the clean tech field. (He previously ran a legal staffing company called The Associates and now operates a software business under that name). Barteld recognizes that the new incubator will only succeed with the right people involved. He's currently trying to recruit a director, noting that he will quickly "get out of the way" when that person is identified. The second big problem is that clean tech companies typically require large amounts of capital, with that money spread over years of development. Compare that to a YCombinator startup that can go from idea to product to customer feedback in a matter of weeks.

Electric Vehicles vs Biofuels

I'm in catch-up mode. Back on July 4 in the Pacific Northwest Energy Venture Blog, Ted Bernhard explains that Electric Vehicles, Not Biofuels are the answer to our dependence on foreign oil, quoting a leaked World Bank report that claims that biofuels are indeed responsible for food prices increasing by 75%. That's different than what the U.S. government claims. Who to believe, the World Bank, or the Bush administration...?

Cleantech Investments

A VentureBeat article this week listed some of the latest statistics for Cleantech VC investments. A sampling:

VCs invested $2.2 billion in Cleantech in 2007 (45% growth) Solar investments grew by 133% to almost $600 million Wind investment grew by more than 10x to $115 million

PV Powered Seeks $10M

A Portland Business Journal article today featured Bend-based PV Powered, which makes inverters for solar cells (inverters convert the DC current that comes out of solar cells to the AC current that residential and commercial users need). The article lists a few industry statistics:

"Over the most recent years, VC (Venture Capital) has been flowing into these companies at an incredible rate,", said Mark Bachman, an equity analyst with Portland-based Pacific Crest Securities. "It's enabled the industry to grow and reach technological innovation quicker than we've done in the past." Clean-energy investment increased from $55 billion in 2006 to $77.3 billion in 2007, according to the latest report from Clean Edge, which has offices in Portland and San Francisco. The solar industry is now a $20.3 billion business, according to Clean Edge, and could grow to $74 billion by 2017.

Affordable Solar Power?

A USA Today article reports that a silicon valley startup claims to have a technology that will make solar power competitive with coal-fired electricity within a year.

SUNRGI's "concentrated photovoltaic" system relies on lenses to magnify sunlight 2,000 times, letting it produce as much electricity as standard panels with a far smaller system. Craig Goodman, head of the National Energy Marketers Association, is expected to announce the breakthrough Tuesday.

$3 Billion Invested in Clean Tech in 2007

Red Herring reports that VC Clean Tech investments reached $3 billion in 2007, an increase of 43% over 2006.

U.S.-based companies received $2.52 billion, or 83 percent of the total, in 159 clean-tech deals, according to data released on Friday by Dow Jones VentureSource. That represented a 79 percent increase over investment in 2006 and accounted for more than 8 percent of total U.S. venture investment in 2007.

 

European companies grabbed $360 million, or 12 percent of the global total, in 56 deals. That marks a 27 percent increase over investment in 2006. Investment in China, however, declined from $424 million in 2006 to $129 million in 2007 in six deals, accounting for 4 percent of global clean-tech venture investment.

REC Solar Comes to Oregon

The Portland Business Journal reported this week that San Luis Obispo based REC Solar has opened an office in Oregon to market solar electrical systems to local businesses:

Unlike Solaicx and SolarWorld AG, two othe state's newest arrivals, REC Solar does not manufacture systems.  Instead, it assembles and installs them, then maintains the systems over the long term.  It serves customers of all sizes, including Costco Wholesales, which hired REC Solar to install two 680-kilowatt electrical systems in Hawaii.

Ethanol: More Harm than Good?

I keep running across articles, like this one from the Minneapolis-St. Paul Start Tribune, that raise concerns over ethanol:

As the rush to petroleum substitutes gains momentum, a (University) study says a switch to biofuels would increase greenhouse gas emissions.

$2.6 Billion invested in CleanTech by U.S. VCs

A National Venture Capital Association report shows $2.6 billion invested by VCs in CleanTech deals in 2007 - well above the $1.8 billion invested in 2006.

Ethanol can Improve Mileage

Ethanol.org reported that a recent study found that certain blends of ethanol can result in better mileage than regular unleaded gasoline.  The study was cosponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE)