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Seattle area a new hub for "clean" technology. Colorado could be clean-energy hub

Michael Weaver began thinking about alternative energy while cruising around Puget Sound.

About two and a half years ago, the newly minted software millionaire was spending a lot of time with his new yacht, but its poor fuel performance and the foul smell of diesel prompted Weaver to look for a cleaner alternative.

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An emerging clean-tech hub
Washington ranks fourth in the nation in terms of venture capital devoted to clean technology. Many local startups are headed by entrepreneurs who tested their mettle in the technology boom. They include:

V2Green

Location: Westlake Avenue North

Founded: 2006

Activity: Uses software, hardware and telecom expertise to manage the charging of plug-in electric vehicles

Headed by: former Microsoft executive

Bionavitas

Location: Snoqualmie

Founded: 2006

Activity: Developing a process to efficiently grow algae for biofuels

Headed by: the founder of Applied Discovery, a legal-software firm

Imperium Renewables

Location: SoDo

Founded: 2004

Activity: Operates the largest biodiesel facility in the United States and has plans for similar plants in other locations

Headed by: the former CEO of Loudeye Technologies, until recently

EnerG2

Location: Downtown Seattle

Founded: 2003

Activity: Works on nanomaterials that provide more efficient energy storage, using University of Washington technology

Headed by: former software executives

General Biodiesel

Location: West Seattle

Founded: 2005

Activity: Makes biodiesel out of recycled vegetable oil

Headed by: the founder of a local Internet provider

Propel Biofuels

Location: Fremont

Founded: 2005

Activity: Operates biodiesel pumps and stations in the Puget Sound area, and aims to expand into other states

Headed by: former software and marketing executives

Sources: The companies

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By Ángel González

Seattle Times business reporter

Full Story: http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=cleantech02&date=20080102&query=%22clean+technology%22

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Colo. could be clean-energy hub

Abundant sunshine and wind could allow the state to export power, a report from Colorado energy officials says.

By Steve Raabe
The Denver Post

Solar arrays cover the roofs on most of the buildings at the Google headquarters in California. In addition to pledging to go carbon-neutral, Google launched a massive program to reduce energy consumption in its giant data centers and announced it was investing hundreds of millions of dollars in research to figure out how to make renewable fuels as cheap as environmentally unfriendly coal. (Google Inc.)

96,000 Wind-energy megawatt potential in Colorado

26,000 Solar-energy megawatt potential in Colorado

11,000 Peak daily megawatt usage in Colorado

Colorado has the potential to be a huge exporter of renewable energy, according to a new resource report compiled by Colorado energy officials.

Full Story: http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_7875808

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