Innovation
The heart of a growing clean energy cluster is innovation. It is the fuel that drives young, new ventures and sector growth. Through the Council’s Innovation Task Force, the Council seeks to develop and execute programs that accelerate clean energy research and start-up activity within the region.
Q2 2010 Innovation Update
Clean Energy Innovation Consortia
The New England Clean Energy Council has continued work on the Clean Energy Innovation Consortia project. The idea behind the project remains to bring together industry, venture capital and entrepreneurs, regional economic development and energy agencies, research universities, and major labs to accelerate the pace of clean energy research, commercialization and cluster development.
There has been significant progress on a number of fronts. The New England Clean Energy Council worked with MassCEC, MIT and other partners on a proposal to DOE and other federal agencies to pilot a Regional Innovation Cluster connected to a building energy efficiency research effort. The Council involved a broad set of energy efficiency and innovation members and partners from across New England in the proposal.
The Council was also successful in getting language to fund pilot, regional Clean Energy Innovation Consortia into the House reauthorization of the America COMPETES Act which passed the House in May. Since then it have been working with Senator Warner to include similar language when the Senate begins considering their version of the bill. At the same time the Council continues efforts to ensure that Clean Energy Innovation Consortia are included in any comprehensive Energy and Climate bill passed by Congress. The team is currently working with Senator Wyden to introduce a version of Consortia that could end up in a Senate Energy bill.
Finally the Council continues on the path to forming a New England Energy Innovation Consortium. There will be a workshop in late July involving stakeholders from around the region.
Clean Energy Fellowship and Executive Education
The Council is pleased to announce that it will be partnering with the Boston University School of Management to offer a new course, the Certificate Program in Developing Global Clean Energy Ventures. The course, which evolved out of the Council's signature Fellowship program, will feature both in-person and remote learning opportunities as well as a capstone project. The course will be offered in Winter/Spring 2011. We are targeting a formal press release with more details in September.
To learn more about the Council’s Innovation programs, click here to view the Q1 2010 Innovation Update.