San Diego Pioneering Microgrids According to New Analysis of CA Regional Cleantech Economies
Southern California is a driver for California’s world-class clean transportation sector and of new microgrid and biorenewable technology according to two new reports by the nonpartisan nonprofit group Next 10.
“The Los Angeles area and the San Diego region have unique local assets that are being leveraged to drive innovation, investment, and growth in the clean economy—a pattern we are seeing repeated across the state,” said businessman F. Noel Perry, founder of the nonpartisan nonprofit group Next 10.
Living Lab: San Diego and Imperial Counties Fostering Smart Grid and Biorenewable Development identifies those counties as leaders in the development of micro grid and biorenewables technologies.
“The University of California, San Diego is working with the area’s technology companies, San Diego Gas & Electric, and the U.S. military to advance grid innovation,” said Byron Washom, UC San Diego’s director of strategic energy initiatives. “The campus generates 92 percent of its own energy and our cutting-edge microgrid is attracting companies from all over the world who want to use it as an energy technology testing ground.”
The region also leads the state in advanced biorenewable fuels, chemicals, and products derived from renewable feedstocks such as plants, algae, and waste.
“Biorenewable companies in the region have attracted over $800 million in early-stage investment over the past decade,” said Jason Anderson,the president of the nonprofit member organization Cleantech San Diego. “These businesses draw on our regional strengths in life sciences and biotechnology research, with academic institutions like UC San Diego serving as innovation hubs.”
Home to a wide array of biorenewable companies like Sapphire Energy, Genometica, Verdezyne, Oberon Fuels, Earthrise Nutritionals, and Synthetic Genomics, other companies like Canergy and California Ethanol and Power are now actively working to establish projects and facilities in the region.
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