Ext User(Gonna Bust Up Exxon's Crime Ring)
20-04-2007, 02:23 PM
http://news.brisbanetimes.com.au/silicon-valley-switches-focus-to-energy/20073908-6h0.html
Silicon Valley switches focus to energy
April 8, 2007 - 11:26AM
Venture capitalists in Silicon Valley have been searching for the next
big thing in high-tech for years, but now many have switched to
greener pursuits - finding technology to help cut global warming.
Although commercial success could take years, venture capitalists are
pouring cash into solar power, fuel cells, wind energy, biofuels, new
lighting microchips, "smart" power grids, and other innovative
energies.
"The best brains in the country are no longer working on the next
pharmaceutical drug or the next Silicon Revolution. They want to work
on energy," said Vinod Khosla, a top venture capitalists in Silicon
Valley.
While there is competition from Canada, Germany, China, India and
other nations, traditional energy companies have been relatively
quiet.
"It is under-researched. There are easy pluckings. Oil companies spend
no money on research, especially outside of how you discover more oil.
All their efforts are token or nominal. The same is true of the coal
business," Khosla said.
It could be years, however, before "clean" power plans translate into
commercial products, not only because of scientific barriers, but also
due to uncertainties about timing, market development and competition.
"We have yet to see any major successes. A lot happening right now is
sort of a research-and-development wave for individual technologies,
Silicon Valley and industry itself," said Regis McKenna, a veteran
marketing strategist who helped launch Apple, Electronic Arts, and
Genentech, among others.
McKenna recalled that the microprocessor, the brain of computers, was
developed in 1971 but it took another 10 years before pioneer Intel
found a market for the device in personal computers.
More than two-thirds, or $US883.6 million ($A1.08 billion), of all
clean technology investments last year were made by US investors.
Cleantech Venture Network, an industry trade group, estimates that
clean energy investment in Silicon Valley topped $US500 million ($A610
million) last year, including not just venture capital but also
corporate and some debt financing. The group estimates $US3.6 billion
was invested across the United States and Europe.
Among the largest clean tech investments were $US75 million in solar
cell maker NanoSolar of Palo Alto, California, and $US50 million for
Los Angeles-based renewable biofuels producer Altra.
Biofuels, wind power, solar photovoltaics and fuel cells are likely to
pace new energy growth, according to Clean Edge.
While new spending on clean technology is growing far faster than
classic venture capital sectors such as computers, health care or
retail start-ups, it remains a tiny fraction - only 3.7 per cent - of
the overall market.
A growing sense of urgency to reduce the use of carbon-based fuels,
which scientists blame for global warming, is driving the move in
Silicon Valley.
"We're not debating whether climate change is occurring. We know it is
and we have the capabilities to do something about it and move toward
a cleaner energy future," said Ron Pernick, co-founder of the Clean
Edge Inc, a research and consulting firm.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's efforts to launch a "greenrush" in
California with a law to fight global warming also has focused more
attention on Silicon Valley.
Schwarzenegger and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg praised a new
fuel cell start-up - Bloom Energy - during a tour of the company last
fall to tout their green credentials and strike a partnership to
improve the environment.
Business can make more money by switching to energy-efficient systems
and developing clean technologies. New jobs will sprout from a
burgeoning service industry to cater to companies' green demands,
Schwarzenegger said.
Beyond the buzz about environmentally friendly technology, Silicon
Valley's most important contribution could be to shift existing
managerial talent from Web and computer companies into building new
energy businesses, Khosla said.
Echelon, a developer of "smart" electric meters to measure energy
efficiencies, taps hardware and software managers and engineers who
have built digital communications networks at earlier Silicon Valley
companies, said Jeff Lund, the company's vice president of business
development.
And even old dogs can learn new tricks. Forty-year-old Applied
Materials, the biggest supplier of tools for making microchips, added
solar cell manufacturing to its repertoire last year, and is equipping
its Sunnyvale research center in Silicon Valley with one of the
largest sun-powered energy systems in the United States.
Silicon Valley switches focus to energy
April 8, 2007 - 11:26AM
Venture capitalists in Silicon Valley have been searching for the next
big thing in high-tech for years, but now many have switched to
greener pursuits - finding technology to help cut global warming.
Although commercial success could take years, venture capitalists are
pouring cash into solar power, fuel cells, wind energy, biofuels, new
lighting microchips, "smart" power grids, and other innovative
energies.
"The best brains in the country are no longer working on the next
pharmaceutical drug or the next Silicon Revolution. They want to work
on energy," said Vinod Khosla, a top venture capitalists in Silicon
Valley.
While there is competition from Canada, Germany, China, India and
other nations, traditional energy companies have been relatively
quiet.
"It is under-researched. There are easy pluckings. Oil companies spend
no money on research, especially outside of how you discover more oil.
All their efforts are token or nominal. The same is true of the coal
business," Khosla said.
It could be years, however, before "clean" power plans translate into
commercial products, not only because of scientific barriers, but also
due to uncertainties about timing, market development and competition.
"We have yet to see any major successes. A lot happening right now is
sort of a research-and-development wave for individual technologies,
Silicon Valley and industry itself," said Regis McKenna, a veteran
marketing strategist who helped launch Apple, Electronic Arts, and
Genentech, among others.
McKenna recalled that the microprocessor, the brain of computers, was
developed in 1971 but it took another 10 years before pioneer Intel
found a market for the device in personal computers.
More than two-thirds, or $US883.6 million ($A1.08 billion), of all
clean technology investments last year were made by US investors.
Cleantech Venture Network, an industry trade group, estimates that
clean energy investment in Silicon Valley topped $US500 million ($A610
million) last year, including not just venture capital but also
corporate and some debt financing. The group estimates $US3.6 billion
was invested across the United States and Europe.
Among the largest clean tech investments were $US75 million in solar
cell maker NanoSolar of Palo Alto, California, and $US50 million for
Los Angeles-based renewable biofuels producer Altra.
Biofuels, wind power, solar photovoltaics and fuel cells are likely to
pace new energy growth, according to Clean Edge.
While new spending on clean technology is growing far faster than
classic venture capital sectors such as computers, health care or
retail start-ups, it remains a tiny fraction - only 3.7 per cent - of
the overall market.
A growing sense of urgency to reduce the use of carbon-based fuels,
which scientists blame for global warming, is driving the move in
Silicon Valley.
"We're not debating whether climate change is occurring. We know it is
and we have the capabilities to do something about it and move toward
a cleaner energy future," said Ron Pernick, co-founder of the Clean
Edge Inc, a research and consulting firm.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's efforts to launch a "greenrush" in
California with a law to fight global warming also has focused more
attention on Silicon Valley.
Schwarzenegger and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg praised a new
fuel cell start-up - Bloom Energy - during a tour of the company last
fall to tout their green credentials and strike a partnership to
improve the environment.
Business can make more money by switching to energy-efficient systems
and developing clean technologies. New jobs will sprout from a
burgeoning service industry to cater to companies' green demands,
Schwarzenegger said.
Beyond the buzz about environmentally friendly technology, Silicon
Valley's most important contribution could be to shift existing
managerial talent from Web and computer companies into building new
energy businesses, Khosla said.
Echelon, a developer of "smart" electric meters to measure energy
efficiencies, taps hardware and software managers and engineers who
have built digital communications networks at earlier Silicon Valley
companies, said Jeff Lund, the company's vice president of business
development.
And even old dogs can learn new tricks. Forty-year-old Applied
Materials, the biggest supplier of tools for making microchips, added
solar cell manufacturing to its repertoire last year, and is equipping
its Sunnyvale research center in Silicon Valley with one of the
largest sun-powered energy systems in the United States.