Cleantech San Diego
2020
Message from the President and CEO
Cleantech San Diego is grateful to our members and stakeholders for your continued support of the organization during this uncertain year, and for the dedication you've shown to upholding the promise of a thriving cleantech economy for all. If this year has taught us anything, it's that community is everything. In that spirit, we have updated the Cleantech San Diego mission statement to better reflect our commitment to promoting investment in and more equitable deployment of sustainable solutions across all parts of the San Diego region.
This report reflects a mix of figures and events from pre- and post-COVID months, and offers a glimpse into the resilience of our industry and the strength of our community amid turbulent times. The cleantech industry was born out of a desire to do things differently. Here in the San Diego region, we are fortunate to have private, public, and academic leaders who value innovation and sustainability, and who are willing to make bold action to support those values for all members of our community. Thank you for joining us in the pursuit of economic growth alongside environmental change and social prosperity.
Our Mission
To accelerate clean technology innovation and promote the equitable deployment of sustainable solutions across the San Diego region for the benefit of the economy, the environment, and all members of the community.
124
Cleantech San Diego Members
- 7 Academic
- 14 Government
- 17 Community Partners
- 60 Energy and Technology
- 3 Building and Construction
- 6 Business and Financial
- 17 Professional Services
34 New Member Companies
1,100,298
Revenue
896,731
Expenses
640,217
Assets
4,544
Twitter followers
1,250
Facebook
4,544
Linkedin followers
Economic Impact
9,914
Cleantech Jobs
858
Payrolled Business Locations
TOTAL CLEANTECH AND
SOLAR JOBS SUPPORTED
37,570
Direct 19,176
Indirect 8,197
Induced 10,197
TOTAL ECONOMIC OUTPUT
$8.2 Billion
Direct $5 Billion
Indirect $1.5 Billion
Induced $1.7 Billion
*Cleantech and solar jobs are not mutually exclusive
9,262
Solar Installation Jobs
144,219
Average Earnings per Cleantech Job
Startups on the Energy Scene
50 energy startups have been accepted into the Southern California Energy Innovation Network (SCEIN).
SCEIN startups swept the stage at the 2020 CEC EPIC Symposium, winning four of the five Energy Visionary Awards.
SCEIN startup Nuvve, a V2G company, announced they will be publicly listed on Nasdaq.
SCEIN companies employ more than 268 people, and have raised $74.5 million in follow-on capital from private and public sources.
24% of current SCEIN companies have female C-Suite leadership, 33% have minority C-Suite leadership, and 12% have veteran C-Suite leadership.
Zac Dobbin joined Cleantech San Diego as the SCEIN Program Manager.
Hosted a virtual tour of the SCEIN program for CEC Vice Chair Janea Scott and other CEC and CPUC leaders.
“SCEIN changed the trajectory of our business tremendously.”
"The Southern California Energy Innovation Network creates environments with access to stakeholders from the State of California, local governments, technology partners, and investors to help us build genuine relationships with decision makers. The program managers are also phenomenal teachers that have helped our team to become better storytellers when sharing KIGT’s vision to larger audiences.”
– Paul Francis, CEO and Founder, KIGT
Industry Advocacy and Climate Policy
- Cleantech San Diego submitted 31 letters in support of its members, energy-related legislation, and regional partners.
- Congressman Mike Levin and the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis released the report “Solving the Climate Crisis: The Congressional Action Plan for a Clean Energy Economy and a Healthy, Resilient, and Just America.”
- SDG&E released its 2020 Sustainability Strategy.
- San Diego Community Power released its first RFP for long‐term renewable energy procurement.
- The City of San Diego reached its 2020 climate goals two years early and launched a Climate Equity Index.
- Chula Vista Mayor Mary Salas joined the Climate Mayors Steering Committee.
- The City of Encinitas set a new goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 44% by 2030, a 5% increase from its 2018 Climate Action Plan.
- San Diego County Regional Airport Authority won an Environmental Achievement Award from Airports Council International-North America.
Smart Cities San Diego
Chula Vista adopted a Digital Equity and Inclusion Plan to ensure every resident has affordable access to high-speed internet and the skills and devices needed to use it.
Qualcomm launched a new Internet of Things services suite to help cities, schools, ports, hospitals, and construction firms deploy smart cities technologies without huge upfront costs.
Cleantech San Diego engaged Cisco to develop a Regional Smart Cities Roadmap with input from the Port of San Diego, San Diego Airport, SANDAG, and the cities of San Diego, Chula Vista, and Carlsbad.
The Carlsbad Connects App offers Carlsbad residents a new platform for greater community engagement, reporting, and service requests. Carlsbad also completed a pilot of the Carlsbad Connector, an app-based shuttle service for rides to and from the COASTER Station.
Solar Power Player
- California reached a milestone of one million roofs with solar panels.
- 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 Solar installed a 204 kW commercial solar system for Del Rey Avocado.
- EDF Renewables was awarded commercial solar projects with Cox Communications, Cubic, and Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute.
Riding Clean
The San Diego region has 53,000 electric vehicles on the road.
California Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order to restrict new car sales in the state to only zero-emission vehicles by 2035.
2,184 public charging stations plus 3,121 SDG&E-owned charging stations help make San Diego one of the fastest growing regions for EV adoption.
Cleantech San Diego was tapped to serve on the steering committee of Accelerate to Zero Emissions, a regional collaboration to combat air pollution through transportation electrification.
Yellow is the New Green
- Cleantech San Diego’s K-12 Schools Sustainability Strategy Collaborative continues in its seventh year with priority focus on zero energy buildings and transportation electrification.
- Nine regional school districts secured federal and state grant funding that will put 61 EV school buses in service in San Diego County.
- 16 San Diego County school districts have applied to participate in SDG&E’s Power Your Drive for Fleets EV Infrastructure Program.
- San Diego Unified School District completed phase one of their districtwide Zero Net Energy Plan to retrofit 42 school sites.
World-Famous
Energy Storage
- LS Power continued San Diego’s energy storage leadership with the largest battery in the world, the 250 megawatt Gateway Energy Storage project in East Otay Mesa.
- EDF Renewables launched a 1 MW battery storage system at the San Diego Zoo and won the contract to install a microgrid and battery storage system at the Port of San Diego’s Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal.
- ENGIE installed a 4 MWh battery energy storage system at the San Diego International Airport.
- 2,854 energy storage projects equaling 112 MW of capacity have been completed in San Diego County.
Virtually Uninterrupted
The virtual nature of gatherings this year allowed for more frequent events and greater participation from remote stakeholders – all with a lower carbon footprint.
Launched the Cleantech San Diego Member Webinar series and held 13 webinars focused on topics ranging from city and airport COVID responses and water and energy agency sustainability plans to paths to funding for cleantech startups and more.
Held a virtual Education Series event focused on energy and water resilience and how the cleantech industry is adapting to a changing climate.
Hosted a three-part Showcase Series featuring online presentations from 17 energy startups in the Southern California Energy Innovation Network.
Hosted virtual Leadership Series events with Congressman Mike Levin, Mayor Todd Gloria and roundtables with Mintz and Chubb.