President-elect Barack Obama pledged to create 5 million new jobs by investing $150 billion in clean energy over 10 years. As the incoming administration considers where to allocate resources, Sacramento-area energy investment experts offered some suggestions:
"We have to tackle transportation – offer tax credits to consumers to encourage demand for efficient hybrid and electric technology for passenger and commercial vehicles. That will filter down to support the growth of all sorts of public and private research, including the UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies' Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle Research Center. It will also support the growth of support companies like Rancho Cordova-based Battery M.D."
– Mark Henwood,
partner, Velocity Venture Capital in Folsom
"If the federal government follows California's lead and requires energy efficiency in their buildings, then that will be exciting for Sacramento because we sit in the headquarters of one of the word's leading conservation initiatives. When government agencies buy energy-efficient lighting and air conditioning, they not only have an enormous impact on the amount of energy used because they are such large consumers, they also encourage the development of that technology so it is more advanced and affordable for private users. Utilities such as SMUD will play a big role in helping consumers use power more wisely."
– Barbara Grant,
managing director, American River Ventures in Roseville
"Some of the money, say 25 percent, should be put into grants for basic research and engineering programs at universities and national labs. Those tend to be a good source for technologies that venture capitalists can fund."
– Scott Lenet,
managing director, DFJ Frontier in West Sacramento
"The most important thing is a stable, long-term energy plan that will give the private sector certainty that funding will be available over the long term so they can build companies that deliver alternative energy regardless of fluctuations in oil prices."
– Nancy Floyd,
managing director, alternative-fuels investment firm Nth Power in San Francisco
"We need to leverage the infrastructure in place at our educational institutions like the Energy Efficiency Center at UC Davis to get technology to market quickly."
– Roger Akers,
managing partner, Akers Capital in Sacramento
J.T. Long is a Sacramento-based freelance writer.
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