California's Clean Tech Open Competition Awards $50,000 in Cash for Energy Efficiency Innovation for Businesses; PG&E, SCE, Southern California Gas Co. and SDG&E Sponsor Award.SAN FRANCISCO -- The California Clean Tech Open today announced that Pacific Gas and Electric Company
The Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) , (NYSE: PCG), is the utility that provides natural gas and electricity to most of Northern California. , Southern California Edison Southern California Edison (or SCE Corp), the largest subsidiary of Edison International (NYSE: EIX), is the primary electricity supply company for much of Southern California. It provides 11 million people with electricity. , Southern California Gas This article or section needs sources or references that appear in reliable, third-party publications. Alone, primary sources and sources affiliated with the subject of this article are not sufficient for an accurate encyclopedia article. Co. and San Diego Gas & Electric will sponsor the competition prize devoted to improving energy efficiency. One of the competition's five category prizes, the energy efficiency prize will award $50,000 in cash, free office space and a range of other professional services to the authors of the best proposal. "Energy efficient and renewable technology development is imperative for future generations," said Tom King, president and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of Pacific Gas and Electric Company. "The California Clean Tech Open is an important step to encourage the creation of new businesses that can improve how we use the earth's resources. I look forward to serving our customers with energy-efficient and renewable-energy technologies like those this competition will produce." Nearly 70 percent of the electricity generated worldwide is lost through inefficiency in the energy supply chain, from primary energy sources to conversion and distribution to users. Within California, large corporations and small businesses alike understand the importance, and positive financial impact, of greater energy efficiency. As a result, a large and growing market opportunity has emerged for businesses that focus on improved energy efficiency. The state's recent Energy Action Plan calls for investor owned utilities (IOUs) to deliver a "power plant per year" of new energy end-use efficiency. In support of this initiative, the California Public Utilities Commission The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC; also often commonly referred to as simply the PUC) [1] is a state Public Utilities Commission which regulates privately-owned utilities in the state of California, including electric power, has authorized more than $2 billion in new funding to continue and expand California investor-owned, utility-administered programs to improve customer energy efficiency over the next three years. California has also created other legislative and regulatory incentives to improve energy end-use efficiency. One example, the Green Building Executive Order, calls for a 20 percent reduction in energy use in state buildings by 2015. "Supporting this competition will ultimately help utility customers reduce their energy use and lower their bills," said Lynda Ziegler, senior vice president of customer programs and services for Southern California Edison. "By promoting innovative new technologies, we ensure that our customers will always have new ways to save energy and money." The Clean Tech Open encourages professionals and students to submit proposals in one of five categories: energy efficiency, renewable energy, smart power, transportation, and water management. The energy efficiency category comprises technologies that can significantly enhance energy end-use efficiency, driving toward the California statewide energy- and demand-savings goals. Examples include advanced lighting and daylighting systems, high-performance water heating technologies and infrastructure for low-energy data centers. "California entrepreneurs have consistently produced some of the world's most important technology innovations, and we're very optimistic that the energy efficiency prize will foster development of a big idea that will help us make better use of our power resources to the benefit of California's economy and environment," said Laurent Pacalin, cochair of the California Clean Tech Open. "With their generous support of the competition, California's investor-owned utilities are making a significant investment that will ultimately benefit all the state's residents." Contestants interested in taking part in the 2006 California Clean Tech Open may submit applications now through May 31. Contest rules, application forms and other details are available on the Web at www.CaCleanTech.com. About The California Clean Tech Open The mission of the California Clean Tech Open is to encourage the development of clean technology companies that foster a healthy natural environment -- companies that provide environmental benefits in the areas of renewable energy, energy efficiency, pollution reduction and resource protection, and conservation. The competition will also serve as a platform to educate the public, as well as the participants, about the environmental challenges we face and new technologies that can provide solutions to those challenges. The inaugural competition opens in April 2006, and winners will be announced in September at a finals event in the Bay Area. The best plan submitted from five categories -- Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy, Smart Power, Transportation, and Water Management -- will be awarded a bundle of prizes to create a sustainable business. Prize sponsors to date include: Energy Efficiency -- Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Southern California Edison, Southern California Gas Company, and San Diego Gas and Electric; Smart Power -- AMD (Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA, www.amd.com) A major manufacturer of semiconductor devices including x86-compatible CPUs, embedded processors, flash memories, programmable logic devices and networking chips. ; Transportation -- Lexus; Water Management -- Agora Foundation, led by President Wynnette LaBrosse. The competition was initiated by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Massachusetts Institute of Technology, at Cambridge; coeducational; chartered 1861, opened 1865 in Boston, moved 1916. It has long been recognized as an outstanding technological institute and its Sloan School of Management has notable programs in business, Club of Northern California (MITCNC) with charter partners Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Horn Murdock Cole, A&R Partners, and Plug & Play Real Estate. A group of entrepreneurs and technologists from Silicon Valley -- Derry and Charlene Kabcenell, Mark Farley, Frank H. Levinson, Geoff Ralston, and Michael and Amy Santullo -- have generously provided the charter funding to launch the competition. The 2006 Host City is the City of San Francisco
(body) Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory - (LLNL) A research organaisatin operated by the University of California under a contract with the US Department of Energy. , Palo Alto Research Center Palo Alto Research Center - XEROX PARC , SRI International, and Technology Ventures Corporation. Competition partners include Clean Edge and Clean Tech Venture Network. University partners include: the Lester Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation at the University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley is a public research university located in Berkeley, California, United States. Commonly referred to as UC Berkeley, Berkeley and Cal ; Berkeley Institute for the Environment; UC Davis Connect; the San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU), founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, is the largest and oldest higher education facility in the greater San Diego area (generally the City and County of San Diego), and is part of the California State University system. Center for Energy Studies; Business Association of Stanford Engineering Students BASES is one of the largest student entrepreneurship organizations in the United States. This non-profit, student-run organization was founded in 1996 by a group of five Stanford University engineering students. ; Ward W. and Priscilla B. Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford University; Stanford Graduate School of Business The Stanford Graduate School of Business (also known as Stanford Business School or Stanford GSB) is one of the professional schools of Stanford University, in Stanford, California. It is one of the leading business schools in the United States. Environmental Management Club; and Stanford Graduate School of Business Energy Club. Competition supporters include California Clean Energy Fund, Environmental Entrepreneurs, CalPERS, and Natural Resources Defense Council The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is a New York City-based, non-profit non-partisan international environmental advocacy group, with offices in Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Beijing. Founded in 1970, NRDC today has 1. . The competition co-chairs are Laurent Pacalin and Michael Santullo. Acterra: Action for a Sustainable Earth, a California 501(c)3 non-profit public benefit corporation (Tax ID 23-7064937) is the administrative and fiscal sponsor of the 2006 California Clean Tech Open legally responsible for the activities of the competition. Acterra is located at 3921 East Bayshore Road, Palo Alto, CA 94303-4303. Additional details about the program are available at www.CaCleanTech.com. |
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