Tag Archives: Green technology

Indiana's Clean Technology Opportunity – TechPoint Event 3/6/09

20 Friday Feb 2009

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Indiana’s Green Technology Future has caught the attention of Indiana’s tech leadership…the next TechPoint New Economy * New Rules event topic is “Indiana’s Clean Technology Opportunity“:

There’s a perfect storm brewing for ‘clean technologies’. As federal climate change legislation threatens to increase energy costs by 50% and the Obama administration focuses on ‘green’ investment as a cornerstone of its stimulus plan, market demand is growing for technological innovations to harness the power of alternative energy. That’s why it is expected that the value of sectors like fuel cells, biofuels, solar and wind power will more than triple over the next decade to represent a $300+ billion industry by 2017.

Join us for a panel discussion of how the cleantech revolution can mean big business for Indiana’s technology and manufacturing industries, from the hybrid-electric vehicle market to the high-tech demands of the new smart power grid. Participants include Paul Mitchell, former economic advisor to Governor Daniels, who is now leading the formation of a new cleantech initiative for the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership, as well as representatives of Indiana companies in the sector.

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Speakers:
Paul Mitchell, Central Indiana Corporate Partnership
David Heger, Barnes & Thornburg LLP

Date: March 6, 2009

8:00 a.m. Registration and continental breakfast
8:30 – 9:30 a.m. Presentation

Click here to register.

Hope to see you there!

TechPoint Tech Thursday 2/19

18 Wednesday Feb 2009

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Tomorrow is TechPoint Tech Thursday.

TechPoint in their own words:TechPoint Logo

“Indiana’s premier initiative for growing Indiana’s thriving technology-based economy, TechPoint is known for its ability to identify and empower high-growth Indiana technology companies through education and networking programs, government advocacy and strategic economic development initiatives.

TechPoint represents Indiana’s entire technology community, including publicly-traded companies, private businesses, colleges and research universities, and local economic development organizations. As the preeminent voice for Indiana’s growing technology community, TechPoint is leading a focused and aggressive statewide effort to help transform the state’s technology sector.”

The speaker tomorrow is Jeff Ready,  co-founder of Scale Computing.

Location:

Baker & Daniels LLP, Indianapolis North
600 E. 96th Street, Suite 600
Indianapolis, IN   46240

Time:

5:00 pm – 6:30 pm

Click here for further info and here to register.

Hope to see you there.

Indiana’s Green Technology Future

03 Tuesday Feb 2009

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The United States overtook Germany as the biggest producer of wind power last year, and will likely take the lead in solar power this year.  U.S. wind power capacity surged 50 percent last year to 25 gigawatts – enough to power more than five million homes. “Governments must send a strong and unequivocal signal that the age of fossil fuels is over,” said Steve Sawyer, secretary general of the Global Wind Energy Council.

This is great news for the U.S., but what does it mean for Indiana?  Is Indiana ready to jump into the green technology movement?  Can coal-dependent Indiana benefit from a shift to wind, solar or other green energy source?

Unfortunately, on wind power, the answer is probably no.  In order for an area to have suitable wind energy potential for wind turbine applications, it needs to have class 3 or greater annual average wind power.  Taking a look at a map of Indiana’s average wind power, it’s pretty apparent that, apart from Gary and areas bordering Lake Michigan, there just isn’t a lot of wind blowing here.  Class 1 and 2 wind power dominates the state map.

This doesn’t mean that technology won’t someday allow lower wind powers to be harnessed, but it does mean that current wind power providers are going to look outside Indiana for initial investment.  Indiana is not poised to be a breeding ground for new wind technology.

Notwithstanding wind power, Indiana does tout other renewable energy resources that can be tapped, such as clean, competitive, low-carbon energy, solar, biomass and geothermal energy.  The Green Jobs Development Act, comprised of two bills (Senate Bill 283 and House Bill 1349), is currently making its way through both Indiana legislative branches.  Listed below is a summary of the Act’s main points:

Click here for the full fact sheet, which additionally sets out how the Green Jobs Development Act will create new jobs and what happens with coal energy, on which Indiana is currently 96% dependent.  If you want to improve the chances of the Green Jobs Development Act being heard and passed, contact either (or both) of the Chairmen of the House Utilities and Senate Utilities Committees.  Email Chairman Win Moses (h81@in.gov) of the Indiana House about HB 1349 and Chairman James Merritt of the Indiana Senate (s31@in.gov) about SB 283.