Cleantech
Message from the President and CEO
This year, the Southern California Energy Innovation Network (SCEIN) continued to substantially expanded its reach and impact supporting entrepreneurs with breakthrough energy innovations, including engaging more startups in the Inland Empire, attracting diverse founders, and bringing increased awareness about SCEIN to strategic investors and partners.
The San Diego region also saw the creation of two multi-city community choice energy (CCE) programs that represent fundamental shifts in the way our region procures renewable energy on behalf of its customers. Along with the newly-focused clean energy goals of these CCEs come exciting opportunities as well as new challenges, both of which I am confident that our cleantech community is well prepared to help shape and support.
Additionally, our Smart Cities San Diego efforts expanded this year thanks to increased engagement from cities and agencies from across the region. In the coming year, this program will continue to promote collaboration across city boundaries to advance smart cities planning on a regional scale.
We are proud that Cleantech San Diego’s commitment to advancing the region’s cleantech industry continues to be considered a best practice across the state and the nation. Thank you to our dedicated members in the public, private, and academic sectors for the work you do to advance technologies and initiatives that benefit both the economy and the environment.
Jason Anderson, President and CEO, Cleantech San Diego
108 Cleantech San Diego Members
6 Academic
14 Government
15 Community Partners
51 Energy and Technology
3 Building and Construction
7 Business and Financial
14 Professional Services
16
New Member
Companies
$897,536 Revenue
$907,258 Expenses
$368,250 Assets
4,513
Twitter
Followers
(3% increase)
1,222
Facebook
Followers
(5% increase)
1,854
LinkedIn Group
Members
(15% increase)
24
Media Mentions
71
Partnered Events
Economic Impact
9,636
Cleantech Jobs
3,310
Payrolled Business Locations
TOTAL CLEANTECH AND
SOLAR JOBS SUPPORTED
39,839
Direct 19,050
Indirect 10,915
Induced 9,873
TOTAL ECONOMIC OUTPUT
$7.1 Billion
Direct $4.1 Billion
Indirect $1.6 Billion
Induced $1.5 Billion
*Cleantech and solar jobs are not mutually exclusive
9,414
Solar Installation Jobs
139,898
Average Earnings per Cleantech Job
Energizing
the Startup Scene
42 energy startup companies have been accepted into the Southern California Energy Innovation Network (SCEIN), which launched in 2016 thanks to a $5 million grant from the California Energy Commission.
SCEIN companies employ more than 217 people and have raised $43.1 million of private capital and $5.8 million in public capital since acceptance into the program, almost double the amount of follow-on funding raised since December 2018.
14 percent of current SCEIN companies have female C-Suite leadership; 21% have minority C-Suite leadership.
Expanding in
the Inland Empire
Awarded a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration to expand SCEIN services in the Inland Empire.
Hired Michael Ford as SCEIN Inland Empire Program Manager to conduct outreach to clean energy stakeholders and entrepreneurs in the Inland Empire region.
“The Southern California Energy Innovation Network continues to be a critical resource for our business. The SCEIN management team, mentors, service providers, learning opportunities, and investor connections have been pivotal in helping our company grow. The SCEIN-provided resources and introductions have helped Aquacycl meet funding goals, build our team, and better leverage and expand our network.”
ORIANNA BRETSCHGER
CEO and Founder, Aquacycl
The Business
of Getting to 100
San Diego became the largest American city to pursue a clean energy community choice program.
The San Diego City Council approved the formation of a community choice energy program and entered into a joint powers agreement with Chula Vista, La Mesa, Encinitas, and Imperial Beach to form San Diego Community Power.
The cities of Carlsbad, Del Mar, and Solana Beach launched the Clean Energy Alliance, the second community choice energy program in San Diego County.
Cleantech San Diego is leading a Community Choice Energy Working Group and held an Energy 101 Briefing to help support the region’s newly launched regional community choice energy programs.
The cleantech industry is unique in that our successes are measured in dollars made as well as in energy saved and greenhouse gas emissions reduced.
Still Stellar in Solar
The San Diego region ranked #2 in the nation in solar installations per capita and total solar installations with 351 megawatts of installed solar capacity.
Baker Electric Home Energy won the 2019 Better Business Bureau Torch Award for Ethics.
Mike Teressso, President of Baker Electric Home Energy, was featured as a 2019 local innovator Shaping San Diego by San Diego Magazine.
Leading the EV Charge
49,439
Electric Vehicles on the Road
1,761
Charging Stations
San Diego County developed an Electric Vehicle Roadmap to help boost EV use in the region.
For the fourth year in a row, San Diego was home to the largest electric vehicle event in the world, attracting 3,300 attendees who took 2,600 test drives at EV Day San Diego.
As part of an SDG&E EV test drive event for San Diego’s LGBT community, Cleantech San Diego received the California Electric Transportation Coalition “Drive Electric Green Megaphone Award” for its decade of work helping to grow EV adoption in the San Diego region.
Electric Youth
Proposition 39 state funding ended in 2018 and the San Diego Regional K-12 Schools Sustainability Collaborative has shifted its primary focus to zero net energy (ZNE) buildings and transportation electrification.
San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) completed lighting and mechanical upgrades at Vista Grande Elementary School, which will be the first ZNE retrofit elementary school when the solar PV installation is completed in early 2020. SDUSD is developing a district-wide ZNE plan for its 189 sites to meet the State’s 2030 ZNE targets for commercial buildings.
Cajon Valley Union School District secured an EPA DERA Grant, which funded the first five EV school buses in San Diego, plus three other school districts secured California Energy Commission grants to launch their bus fleet electrification.
With Smart Cities San Diego, we’ve created an atmosphere where companies can talk to cities and ask them what they are looking at, what keeps them up at night, and how industry can help.
JASON ANDERSON
President and CEO, Cleantech San Diego
Smart Cities San Diego
Smarter Together
Cleantech San Diego received a Smart Cities Readiness Challenge Award from the Smart Cities Council for its work convening the City of San Diego, the City of Carlsbad, the City of Chula Vista, the Port of San Diego, San Diego International Airport, and SANDAG to begin approaching smart cities efforts on a regional scale.
Digital Equity
The cities of San Diego and Chula Vista both launched equity- and inclusivity-focused smart city roadmaps to address how technology-based solutions can help address the top economic and social challenges of residents in low- to moderate-income areas.
San Diego has proven time and again that it is all in when it comes to cutting greenhouse gases and creating clean energy jobs. In order to meet our goals, we need to invest in a variety of technologies — and energy storage is key.
-From Cleantech San Diego’s May 30, 2019, OpEd in the Voice of San Diego
Energy Storage Takes Off
San Diego International Airport partnered with ENGIE to install a 4 MWh battery energy storage system that will charge and discharge during strategic points throughout the day to reduce the airport’s utility demand charges, while also enabling the airport to install more onsite solar.
1,911 energy storage projects equaling 34 MW of capacity have been completed in San Diego County.
Cleantech San Diego events bring members together to network, learn, and inspire.
Information is Power
Held four Education Series events focused on the San Diego Community Power, regional smart cities efforts, breakthrough innovations from local energy startups, and state policies shaping the cleantech industry.
Held five Leadership Series events with Congressman Mike Levin, Congressman Scott Peters, Senator Ben Hueso, BIRD Foundation, and Chubb Insurance.
Held eight Cleantech San Diego Member Breakfast Series events focused on EV infrastructure programs, climate change impacts and adaptation, opportunity zones, financing tips for cleantech startups, SANDAG’s 2021 Regional Plan, the San Diego Regional Quality of Life Dashboard, the Seaport San Diego redevelopment, and more.
Held three regional Smart Cities San Diego workshops to bring cities and public agencies from across San Diego County together to share best practices and learn from one another’s smart cities projects and strategies.
Showcased San Diego’s clean technology and smart cities leadership at more than two dozen conferences across the U.S.
Submitted 26 letters in support of Cleantech San Diego members, energy-related legislation, and regional partners.