Lauren Gravitz
San Diego has become a hotspot for clean technology, with barrels of resources directed toward solar, wind, biotech, and other “enertech” sectors. In fact, so strong is the emphasis on energy technology and clean energy that when the non-profit coalition Cleantech San Diego launched last year, the group took off like a rocket (an environmentally friendly rocket, no doubt). The organization’s goal, says president and CEO Lisa Bicker, is to create an “eco-engine” for clean technologies in San Diego.
So how big is that eco-engine the organization is trying to foster? Last year, just as Cleantech San Diego was forming and to help it kick off, the U.C. San Diego Extension’s GlobalConnect compiled a comprehensive list of clean technology companies in the greater San Diego area. The list, which you can find in this report on Cleantech’s site, was used to create the map below (click on the map for a larger view). It comprises 148 companies in 11 different sectors. By my count they include: agriculture (3 companies), air and environment (6), energy efficiency (15), energy generation (67, including solar giant Kyocera and local utility SDG&E), energy infrastructure (7), energy storage (7, including Sanyo), manufacturing/industrial (6), materials (4), recycling and waste (13), transportation (8), water and wastewater (19), and cleantech solutions providers (3).
Among the larger companies: 3E, Kyocera Solar, and local utility SDG&E, as well as hybrid-electric engine developer ISE Corporation and battery technology company PowerGenix. And, of course, there’s an electrifying (so to speak) list of startups, including , Kai BioEnergy (an algae-into-fossil fuels venture), Aquaverde (residential greywater systems) and Envision Solar (creators of a photovoltaic carport system).
The 148 companies are spread throughout San Diego County, with 97 of them in the city proper. Nathan Owens, Director of Regional Assessments for GlobalConnect, says there haven’t been any updates to the map since it was created, but that he has since identified 27 additional companies. “There’s already 175 cleantech companies in San Diego,” he says.
We’ve already written about one new interesting startup, Sapphire Energy, which is working on oil-producing algae and whose backers include Bill Gates’s investment arm, Kirkland, WA-based Cascade Investment. But if you know of any others that should be added to the list (or any that should be removed), leave a comment or send us a note at tips@xconomy.com
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