SBA Licenses Its First Public-Private Impact Investment Initiative Fund in Michigan

Today, the U.S. Small Business Administration announced that InvestMichigan! Mezzanine Fund will be the first licensed Impact Investment Fund in the SBA’s new Impact Investment Initiative. The fund will focus exclusively on providing capital to businesses that are headquartered in Michigan, have a significant presence in Michigan, or are in the process of expanding their operations in Michigan so they can grow and create jobs.

SBA will partner with Michigan Growth Capital Partners, L.P., an investment partnership whose anchor investor is the State of Michigan Retirement Systems, and The Dow Chemical Company to provide up to $130 million of investment capital over the next five years to high-growth businesses throughout Michigan.

Credit Suisse’s Customized Fund Investment Group structured the InvestMichigan! Mezzanine Fund and will manage the fund in partnership with Beringea, a Michigan-based investment manager. Of the total funding, Dow will provide $15 million; Michigan Growth Capital Partners will provide $35 million; and SBA will provide $80 million, which must be repaid.

“InvestMichigan! is an important new ally in SBA’s commitment to foster small-business growth and job creation in underserved communities,” said SBA Administrator Karen Mills. “They’re an experienced team that is well-positioned to drive more investment in small businesses in hard-hit Michigan.

“We will continue to grow this and other public-private partnerships by licensing more funds -- giving taxpayers a strong bang for their buck, and putting more capital in the hands of small-business owners to scale up and create good jobs.”

The Impact Investment Initiative is part of Startup America, a White House initiative to bring together public and private organizations to accelerate the growth of America’s entrepreneurs. It will use the infrastructure of the SBA’s Small Business Investment Company Program [SBIC], an established and successful program that operates at no cost to taxpayers.

The SBIC program began in 1958 with the mission to improve and stimulate the national economy and small businesses by supplementing the flow of private-equity capital and long-term loan funds for the sound financing, growth and expansion of small businesses. In FY 2010, the SBIC program provided $1.59 billion of financing to nearly 900 U.S. small businesses.

The Impact Investment Initiative will drive up to $1.5 billion into the hands of small businesses over the next five years. It will combine public and private funding for high-growth companies that will generate not only a financial, but also a “social” return, by focusing on businesses located in underserved communities or communities facing barriers to capital.

Through the Impact Investment Initiative, SBA will commit $1 billion to investment funds focused on investing in underserved markets, or in sectors that have been defined as national priorities.

Impact investments can be:
* Place-based -- Targeting small businesses located in, or employing residents of, low- or moderate-income areas or economically distressed areas; or
* Sector-based -- Targeting industry sectors that the Obama Administration has identified as national priorities. Currently only clean-energy and education have been identified as priority sectors.

To serve these markets, SBA will collaborate with private, institutional investors to identify impact investments and provide expedited licensing and capital to fund managers who qualify to organize and operate an Impact Investment SBIC.

High-growth firms are a small part of the small-business community, but they create a large number of net new jobs each year. The Impact Investment Initiative will help high-growth companies receive the funding they need to continue to expand and create jobs in America’s underserved communities and priority sectors.

For more information on SBA's Impact Investment Initiative, visit http://1.usa.gov/ImpactSBA.

GoodBiz113's Take

InvestMichigan! marks a significant development in the potential power of public-private synergies to boost out nation's economy -- state by state, community by community.

Kudos to SBA and its partners for making it happen. We'll be watching...

SOURCES: U.S. Small Business Administration, The White House
____________________

Get FREE Next-Business-Day Delivery with Your $50 Order at OfficeDepot.com! ^AF

President Obama: ‘Clean Energy Will Help Us Out-Compete and Out-Innovate the Rest of the World’

Yesterday, while taping his weekly address at Allison Transmission -- a hybrid-vehicle transmission company in Indianapolis, Ind. -- President Barack Obama explained how investments in a clean-energy economy are the only solution to high gas prices over the long term.

"The clean-energy jobs at this plant are the jobs of the future -- jobs that pay well right here in America," said Obama. "And in the years ahead, it’s clean-energy companies like this one that will keep our economy growing, create new jobs, and make sure America remains the most prosperous nation in the world.

"Allison Transmission is also part of the ultimate solution to high gas prices. We know there are no quick fixes to this problem. In the short term, we’re doing everything we can to boost safe and responsible oil production here at home -- in fact, last year, American oil production reached its highest level since 2003.

"But over the long term, the only way we can avoid being held hostage to the ups and downs of oil prices, is if we reduce our dependence on oil. That means investing in clean, alternative sources of energy -- like advanced biofuels and natural gas. And that means making cars and trucks and buses that use less oil.

"Other countries know this, and they’re going all in to invest in clean-energy technologies and clean-energy jobs. But I don’t want other countries to win the competition for these technologies and these jobs. I want America to win that competition. I want America to win the future..."

To read the full transcript of President Obama's weekly address, go to: http://1.usa.gov/Transcript050711.

To view the video of the President's weekly address plus a downloadable infographic on his short- and long-term approach to high gas prices, go to: http://1.usa.gov/Video050711.

To learn what the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy [EERE] is doing to invest in clean-energy technologies that strengthen the economy, protect the environment, and reduce dependence on foreign oil, visit: http://www.eere.energy.gov/.

GoodBiz113's Take
We're all about win-win-win-win. President Obama's pragmatic and sustainable clean-energy policy will yield wins for small businesses, consumers, the environment, and the U.S. economy.

His leadership is precisely what America needs to truly win the future. If his actions happen to inspire other countries to follow our lead, all the better.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Energy, The White House [official photo by Pete Souza]
____________________

Green Your Home or Office with Solar Products Available Exclusively at Real Goods Solar. ^AF

Energy Secretary Chu Announces $112 Million in SunShot Initiative Projects to Advance Solar Photovoltaic Manufacturing Partnerships in U.S.

As part of the SunShot Initiative, U.S. Department of Energy [DOE] Secretary Steven Chu [pictured] yesterday announced the selection of up to $112.5 million in funding over five years, to support the development of advanced solar photovoltaic [PV]-related manufacturing processes throughout the United States.

DOE’s SunShot advanced manufacturing partnerships will help the solar power industry overcome technical barriers and reduce costs for PV installations, help the U.S. regain the lead in the global market for solar technologies, and provide support for clean-energy jobs for years to come.

This program is modeled, in part, on SEMATECH [Semiconductor Manufacturing TECHnology]. Faced with falling U.S. market share for the domestic semiconductor industry from 57 percent in 1982, to 38 percent in 1988, SEMATECH began working with domestic equipment suppliers to improve their capabilities.

As a result of SEMATECH’s work to solve common manufacturing problems by leveraging resources and sharing risks, within 10 years the domestic semiconductor industry had grown by 16 percent. Through this award, SEMATECH will now apply similar ingenuity to helping the U.S. recapture the lead in solar manufacturing.

"Expanding the U.S. solar energy industry is an important part of the Administration's goals to diversify our electricity supply, and rebuild America’s manufacturing base to create jobs now and in the future," said Secretary Chu. "The SunShot Initiative will not only keep the United States at the forefront in solar energy research and development, but will help us win the worldwide race to build a solar manufacturing industry that produces solar systems that are cost-competitive with fossil fuels."

Yesterday’s investments are part of DOE’s SunShot Initiative, which aims to reduce the total costs of photovoltaic solar energy systems by about 75 percent, so that they are cost-competitive at large scale with other forms of energy without subsidies by the end of the decade. Achieving this goal -- equivalent to approximately $1 a watt, or roughly 6 cents per kilowatt-hour for utility systems -- would allow solar energy systems to be broadly deployed across the country.

By engaging multiple companies across the PV supply chain, the SunShot advanced manufacturing partnerships program intends to have broad impact on the U.S. solar industry:

* Selected projects will create organizations designed to bring PV companies together in a coordinated environment to address common technology needs.

* The facilities established through these projects will provide services, tools and facilities to PV companies and suppliers -- to assist them in developing and demonstrating new technologies, and in making the transition to commercial production.

* The program will also link universities and national labs with PV cell, materials, and equipment suppliers to help speed the rate of innovation through coordinated and focused PV manufacturing development.

The selected industry-focused organizations will strongly leverage industry, state, and local funds, and are expected to achieve financial self-sufficiency after five years.

DOE Funding Fuels Coast-to-Coast Collaborations
Funding was made available for applicants in university and industry. Both topics consider collaborative research models to accelerate manufacturing-related technologies and provide maximum leverage to federal funding.

Following are the selected projects:

* Bay Area PV Consortium [Stanford, Cal.] -- $25 million for University-Focused Development
Bay Area PV Consortium [BAPVC] will fund industry-relevant research and development to impact high-volume PV manufacturing, using a competitive selection process open to all universities.

This project, managed by Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley, will develop and test the innovative new materials, device structures, and fabrication processes necessary to achieve cost effective PV modules in high-volume production. The research will advance technologies that reduce manufacturing costs and improve device performance characteristics to help achieve SunShot’s price targets.

An industry board composed of representatives from PV companies will determine the specific topics for research and development to assure close alignment with industry and manufacturing needs.

* SVTC Technologies [San Jose, Cal.] -- $25 million for Industry-Focused Development
SVTC will create a fee-for-service PV manufacturing development facility [MDF] that will enable startups, materials suppliers, and other PV innovators to eliminate a major portion of their upfront capital and operating costs during product development and pilot production. This will potentially accelerate development and time to market by 12 to 15 months.

The MDF will focus on commercialization of silicon PV manufacturing processes and technologies, and aim to reduce the costs and development time for participating PV industry leaders to deliver innovative, emerging technologies from the laboratory to commercial manufacturing lines.

The MDF will support SunShot targets by strengthening and accelerating growth along the PV manufacturing industry’s entire supply chain by reducing the cost, time, and risk associated with commercialization.

* U.S. Photovoltaic Manufacturing Consortium [Albany, N.Y. and Palm Bay, Fla.] – $62.5 million for Industry-Focused Development
Managed by SEMATECH, the U.S. Photovoltaic Manufacturing Consortium [PVMC] will coordinate an industry-driven research-and-development initiative to accelerate the development, manufacturing and commercialization of next-generation copper indium gallium selenide [CIGS] thin-film PV manufacturing technologies, driving down the cost and risk of bringing them to the marketplace.

PVMC -- with its major partner, the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering at the State University of New York at Albany -- will establish manufacturing development facilities that PV companies and researchers can use for product prototyping, demonstration, and pilot-scale manufacturing to evaluate and validate CIGS thin-film and PV manufacturing technologies.

PVMC will also work with the University of Central Florida to develop cost-effective, in-line measurement and inspection tools to enable increased PV manufacturing yield.

In addition, PVMC will operate complementary programs to foster new PV technologies and firms, and to develop the U.S. PV workforce. The proposed project will use heavy industry leveraging funds for every $1 of DOE funding.

The SunShot program builds on the legacy of President John F. Kennedy's 1960s "moon shot" goal, which laid out a plan to regain the country's lead in the space race and land a man on the moon. The program will aggressively drive innovations in the ways that solar systems are conceived, designed, manufactured and installed.

For more information and to follow the SunShot Initiative's progress, visit the SunShot Initiative website: http://1.usa.gov/SunShotDOE.

GoodBiz113's Take
DOE's just-announced solar manufacturing partnerships will boost American competitiveness in the global solar energy industry and lower the cost of clean, renewable energy. Further, they'll promote entrepreneurship and generate much-needed jobs.

Chalk it up as yet another win-win-win-win endeavor by the Obama Administration -- one that holds far-reaching potential for decades to come.

SOURCES: NASA, U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy [EERE], Wikipedia
____________________

HostGator.com: Green Web Hosting Made EASY and AFFORDABLE. ^AF

President Obama on Clean Energy: ‘We Could Have as Much as 40 Percent of the World’s Market by 2015’

Today, President Barack Obama spoke with workers at Smith Electric Vehicles' new factory in Kansas City, Mo. With a $32 million grant under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act [ARRA], coupled with $36 million in private capital, the electric-vehicle company is building up to 500 all-electric trucks.

While he was there, the President [pictured above with Smith Electric executives] also had the pleasure of announcing the company was hiring its 50th worker at the plant. By September, that number is expected to grow to 70 and, at the project’s peak, Smith says the project will create more than 220 direct and indirect jobs.

"Just a few years ago, America had the capacity to build only about two percent of the world’s advanced batteries for electric and hybrid vehicles like Smith’s -- two percent, that was it," President Obama told a crowd of Smith Electric employees and guests. "We account for 25 percent of the world’s economy, and we were only making two percent of the world’s advanced batteries.

"But, thanks to our new focus on clean energy and the work that’s taking place in plants like this one, we could have as much as 40 percent of the world’s market by 2015 -- five years. That means jobs. But that also means we’re going to have an expertise in a sector that’s just going to keep on growing all around the world for years to come. So, all these efforts taken together are making a difference."

The story of Smith’s factory shows the direct and measurable impact of the Recovery Act. Smith’s factory is repurposing an 80,000-square-foot jet-engine overhaul facility at the Kansas City International Airport -- a space that was not being utilized or creating jobs is now a fully operational plant.

Along with creating new jobs and breathing life back into this facility, this project is helping demonstrate that electric-drive cars and trucks are real. Fleet customers like Coca-Cola and AT&T will test the vehicles, realizing they can save money over diesel-powered trucks with lower fuel costs.

Without government-supported demonstrations, these companies would likely have waited years before testing a new technology -- especially during an economic downturn. Like any technology, these first demonstrations will help lower the cost, as companies perfect the manufacturing assembly processes and begin operating on a larger, more cost-efficient scale.

Proposed "Green Impact Zone" Would Fuel Sustainability in Kansas City Community
Smith Electric’s story is only one piece of a much broader Recovery Act puzzle unfolding in the Kansas City area. Early this year, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver [D-Mo.] developed a plan for a Green Impact Zone to be established in a 150-block area in the city. The goal is to create a sustainable community -- i.e., one that is environmentally, economically and socially stronger tomorrow than it is today.

Here are a few of the highlights:

* Weatherization: In Kansas City, stimulus funds have been used to finish weatherization work at almost 200 residences in the last few months.

* Energy Efficiency: Kansas City will use its community block grant funds to undertake a number of projects to enhance energy efficiency across the city -- including energy-efficiency upgrades of several major buildings. The city anticipates these activities to create or retain more than 200 jobs.

* Modernizing the Electric Grid: Kansas City Power and Light won a $24 million grant to support a $48 million smart grid demonstration project.

* Science and Innovation: Kansas City-based EaglePicher Corporation, in partnership with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, won a $7.2 million ARPA-E award to develop a new generation of high-energy, low-cost planar liquid sodium beta batteries for grid-scale electrical power storage applications.

* Advanced Vehicle Technology: The Metropolitan Energy Center’s Midwest Region Alternative Fuels Project was awarded nearly $15 million as part of the Clean Cities program to develop 27 alternative-fuel stations, and deploy 373 alternative-fuel and advanced-technology vehicles.

Through collaboration with industry leaders, nonprofits, universities, and federal/state/local-government leadership, Smith Electric and Kansas City are demonstrating the opportunities for communities across the country to develop a clean and renewable-energy economy.

"My answer to those who don’t have confidence in our future -- who want to stop -- my answer is, come right here to Kansas City," President Obama noted towards the end of today's remarks. "Come see what’s going on at Smith Electric. I think they’re going to be hard-pressed to tell you that you’re not better off than you would be if we hadn’t made the investments in this plant."

To read the full text of remarks that President Obama made today regarding the economy and the success of Smith Electric Vehicles and other young green-energy small businesses and initiatives, go to: http://bit.ly/ObamaSmithElectric.

For more information on the Recovery Act’s work in Missouri, please visit the Department of Energy's website: http://bit.ly/MissouriRecoveryAct.

To learn more about how clean-energy small businesses are helping to drive our nation's economy forward, go to: http://bit.ly/SmallBizCleanEnergy.

SOURCES: U.S. Department of Energy, The White House [photo by Pete Souza]
____________________

Go Green with Interstate Batteries. [affiliate link]

Sen. Landrieu: Economy Improving, But More Help Is Needed for America's Small Businesses

Late yesterday, just hours after the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that approximately 162,000 Americans were put back to work in the month of March, United States Senator Mary L. Landrieu [D-La., pictured], chair of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, issued the following statement:

"Last month, approximately 162,000 Americans were put back to work -- a sign that the measures Congress is taking to improve the economic climate are working," said Landrieu. "While I am encouraged by the number of jobs that were created, there is still much work to be done to support the nation's small businesses and those Americans still out of work.

"To build on the successful recovery loan initiatives -- higher guarantees and fee waivers on borrowers of Small Business Administration loans -- I urge my colleagues in the Senate to work to adopt the provisions coming out of the Small Business Committee. With small business accounting for 65 percent of all new jobs, these proposals are aimed at creating jobs and spurring small-business growth, and have passed this Committee with bipartisan support."

Sen. Landrieu has proposed five measures to be included in the next jobs bill to be debated on the Senate floor. The measures include:

* Small Business Job Creation and Access to Capital Act of 2009 [S. 2869]: Raises the cap on small-business loans to increase lending by $5 billion the first year, and refinances commercial real estate debt into long-term, fixed-rate loans -- provisions that are expected to be budget neutral and could create/save 200,000 jobs;

* Small Business Export Enhancement and International Trade Act of 2009 [S.2862]: Boosts small businesses’ exporting potential by improving access to loans, counseling programs and coordination of existing federal export assistance resources, while injecting more than $1 billion in capital for small businesses and saving/creating as many as 50,000 jobs;

* Small Business Contracting Revitalization Act of 2010 [S. 2989]: Removes the red tape and closes loopholes that too often put government work into the hands of multinational corporations instead of Main Street businesses. Increasing contracts to small businesses by just 1 percent can create more than 100,000 jobs;

* Small Business Community Partner Relief Act of 2010 [S. 3165]: Strengthens SBA women’s business and microloan programs to ensure they have the funds and manpower needed to be successful resource partners and help small-business owners get the assistance they need; and

* SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act of 2009 [S. 1233]: Encourages small businesses to develop new technologies in fields from health care and defense, to clean energy. These competitive grants are the largest source of federal R&D funding for small, high-tech firms. Twenty-percent of SBIR participants say they started their company in part because of a prospective SBIR award, creating thousands of jobs.

This week, Sen. Landrieu sent a letter to her Senate colleagues requesting their support for this legislation. To view a copy of the letter, please go to: http://bit.ly/LandrieuLetterJobsBill.

Detailed information on each proposal can be found here: http://bit.ly/SmallBizJobCreation.

SOURCES: GovTrack.us, U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship
____________________

HostGator.com: Green Web Hosting Made EASY and AFFORDABLE.

Labor Department Reports That U.S. Added 162,000 Jobs in March; President Obama Tells N.C. Clean-Energy Workers, 'We Are Beginning to Turn the Corner'

This morning, the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the nation added jobs at the fastest pace in three years last month as factories, stores, hospitals and Census 2010 all brought workers on board -- the surest sign yet that the worst employment market in a generation has finally snapped back.

The unemployment rate stayed at 9.7 percent for the third month in a row. Overall, the economy added a total of 162,000 jobs for the month, including 123,000 jobs added by the private sector -- the most since May 2007. Approximately one-third of the gains came from Census 2010, with much more to come: About 700,000 head-counters will be hired to tally the nation's population this spring.

Later, President Barack Obama travelled to Charlotte, N.C., where he visited the global headquarters of Celgard LLC, a relatively small manufacturing company that is benefiting from the Recovery Act investments towards clean energy. Celgard develops and produces specialty microporous membranes for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, and is at the frontier of our clean-energy economy -- and the frontier of recovery.

There, the President [pictured above, with Celgard employees, executives and guests] delivered remarks about the current state of the economy and job growth, noting that the economy created 162,000 new jobs created in March, instead of losing them -- "the best news we’ve seen on the job front in more than two years."

He warned that, while the economy appears to be picking up, there is still a lot of work to be done. "Economic statistics don’t do justice to the pain and anxiety that results from unemployment," said Obama. "Lasting unemployment takes a toll on families, takes a toll on marriages, takes a toll on children. It saps the vitality of communities, especially in places that have seen factories and other anchoring businesses shut their doors. And being unable to find work -- being able to provide for your family -- that doesn’t just affect your economic security, that affects your heart and your soul. It beats you up. It’s hard.

"So we have to be mindful that today’s job numbers, while welcome, leaves us with a lot more work to do. It will take time to achieve the strong and sustained job growth that we need."

The President noted that the private sector is the "true engine of job growth in this country," and that, while the government "can’t reverse the toll of this recession overnight," it can help to spur job growth by providing incentives for companies to begin hiring again.

The President recently signed the HIRE Act, a jobs bill that provides tax cuts for businesses that hire new employees, and makes investments in clean energy and schools to encourage job creation. He talked about the Recovery Act, which made significant investments in infrastructure, helping to create private-sector jobs.

President Obama also explained that Celgard LLC received a $50 million grant through the Recovery Act to expand the facility and lead in the clean energy sector, and that this story is being repeated all over the country.

"So here’s the bottom line," said Obama. "This investment is expected to create nearly 300 jobs for this company, more than a thousand jobs for your contractors and suppliers -- and these are all jobs helping America build the batteries that will power cleaner and more efficient cars and trucks. And through investments like this one across the country, we’re already seeing an incredible transformation.

"Here’s an interesting statistic: Before the Recovery Act, before I took office, we had the capacity to make less than two percent of the world’s lithium-ion batteries -- less than two percent. In the next five years, on the trajectory that we’re now on, we’re going to be able to make 40 percent of the advanced batteries right here in the United States of America. Right here.

"So the next time somebody asks you, when you’re at the grocery store, well, what did this Recovery Act do? You can tell them, one of the things it helped do is to expand and catalyze an entire new industry, where the United States of America can gain enormous market share across the globe.

"And that’s the kind of strategy we need -- helping the private sector thrive in entirely new industries, the industries of the future. It’s a strategy that will not only create jobs in the near term, but also sustained growth and opportunity in the long run."

To read the entire text of President Obama's remarks, go to: http://bit.ly/ObamaJobsEconomyCelgard.

To learn more about the benefits of the Recovery Act, visit: http://bit.ly/RecoveryAct2009.

GoodBiz113's Take
No one, even in their far-right mind, could possibly argue against job growth being a good thing. And the fact that small, innovative and sustainable companies like Celgard are helping to power our economy forward, is even better.

SOURCES: Bureau of Labor Statistics, GovTrack.us, The White House [official photo by Pete Souza]
____________________

Keep It Green With Interstate Batteries.

DOE Releases New Report on Benefits of Recovery Act for Small Businesses in Clean Energy, Environmental Management Sectors

The U.S. Department of Energy today released a new report -- "Small Businesses Helping Drive Economy: Clean Energy, Clean Sites" -- that highlights the benefits of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 [ARRA] to small businesses throughout the clean, renewable-energy industry and environmental management sector.

This report found that, as of early March 2010, small businesses have been selected to receive nearly $5.4 billion in funding across a number of Recovery Act and related programs -- including loans, loan guarantees, grants, contracts and tax incentives -- in partnership with the U.S. Department of Treasury.

The report highlights 26 small businesses in a range of clean-energy technologies -- e.g., wind, solar, biofuels -- along with critical new infrastructure, such as Smart Grid, advanced batteries, energy storage, and energy-efficiency tools. It also notes small businesses that are helping to advance responsible environmental cleanup efforts.

Energy Secretary Dr. Steven Chu [pictured] and Small Business Administrator Karen Mills highlighted the report as part of a media conference call. The call also featured Scott Lang, CEO of Silver Spring Networks, and Harrison Dillon, president and CTO of Solazyme Inc.

"Small businesses are the backbone of job creation in this country and have been a springboard for innovation in the clean-energy sector," said Secretary Chu. "The work these companies do and the innovation they produce will go a long way in helping our economy grow, and our nation succeed."

SBA Administrator Mills concurred. "Small businesses have created about 64 percent of the new jobs over the past 15 years," she noted. "Already, small businesses are one of the driving forces in the green-energy sector. With resources like those provided through the Department of Energy and SBA, we have a unique opportunity to support the creation of good, well-paying jobs here at home -- jobs that will also help keep America competitive."

Read the full report: http://bit.ly/SmallBizCleanEnergy.

Some success stories highlighted in the report include:

* UQM Technologies Inc., of Frederick, Col., is a well-established supplier of prototype electric propulsion and generator systems -- including electric rotating machines and drive electronics. For more than two decades, the company has supplied these systems to both established and aspiring automakers. In 2006, UQM completed an R&D project with the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy [EERE] Vehicle Technologies Program to design a power-dense motor for use in electric drive vehicles. UQM is now positioned to take its technology into production, establishing a U.S. volume manufacturer of electric drive systems. The $45 million grant that UQM received under the Recovery Act will enable UQM to establish manufacturing facilities for production volumes of 120,000 electric drive systems per year, powering all-electric, hybrid-electric, plug-in hybrid-electric passenger cars and hybrid-electric trucks and buses, creating up to 3,000 jobs.

* Silver Spring Networks, based in Redwood City, Cal., did not receive a direct grant under the Smart Grid Investment Grant [SGIG] Program, but it is still a big winner through its partnerships with many utilities around the country. For instance, Florida Power & Light [FPL] received a $200 million grant for its Energy Smart Miami project, which represents the foundation of a $700 million investment to deploy Smart Meters to every residential FPL customer in Florida. Silver Spring provides the hardware, software and services that connect every device on the grid, creating a unified Smart Energy Platform. Other utility clients of Silver Spring who received SGIG grants include Pepco Holdings Inc., Oklahoma Gas & Electric, and American Electric Power.

* Solazyme Inc., a San Francisco-based company, is a true start-up success story. Founded in 2003 by a scientist and entrepreneur who were among the first people to focus on algae as an alternative to conventional fuels, the company has pioneered a new technology to produce biodiesel and green diesel from algae oil. Like most emerging technology companies, Solazyme faced a huge obstacle in obtaining adequate funds to commercialize its technology. However, with a $21.8 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act [ARRA] grant under the Biomass Program, Solazyme will now be able to build its first integrated algae fuel refinery and help lay the foundation for subsequent large-scale development of an "advanced biofuels" industry. The project will create jobs in California and Pennsylvania.

* FloDesign Wind Turbine Corp. is a fledgling start-up that won an MIT clean-energy competition last year. The company is developing a new high-efficiency shrouded wind turbine capable of delivering significantly more energy per unit of swept area. FloDesign Wind’s $8.3 million ARPA-E grant represents a major increase in resources for the company that will have a dramatic effect on its ability to ramp up technology development.

* Universal Display Corporation was awarded a $4 million ARRA grant by DOE, under the Building Technologies Program [BTP] to scale and transfer its technologies to a partner pilot organic light-emitting diodes [OLED] manufacturing line to be set up in the U.S. The project will facilitate the growth of the embryonic OLED lighting industry by providing prototype lighting panels to U.S. luminaire manufacturers -- to incorporate into products, to facilitate testing of design, and to gauge customer acceptance. Part of a new DOE initiative designed to help establish and maintain U.S. leadership in solid-state lighting manufacturing, the funding will help UDC lay the foundation for the development of an OLED lighting industry in the U.S.

In toto, the Recovery Act awarded DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy [EERE] $16.8 billion for its programs and initiatives. For details about EERE's funding and how it is being spent, go to: http://bit.ly/RecoveryActEERE.

SOURCES: Recovery.gov, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Small Business Administration
____________________

Green Your Home or Office With Solar Products -- Available Exclusively at Real Goods Solar.

Senate Unanimously Passes Kerry Small-Business Innovation and Technology Funding Plan

Senator John Kerry [D-Mass.], a senior member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, applauded yesterday's unanimous Senate passage of two small-business research programs that Kerry originally sponsored as the committee’s former chairman.

The Small Business Innovation Research [SBIR] and Small Business Technology Transfer [STTR] programs, administered under the Small Business Administration [SBA], offer competitive awards to innovative small businesses. Reflecting Kerry’s original legislation, yesterday’s vote will reauthorize the SBIR and STTR programs for eight years, making the new sunset date for both programs Sept. 30, 2017.

"This is a shot in the arm for small businesses in Massachusetts and throughout the country," said Kerry. "This vote ensures that these programs do not lapse, so that small, high-tech firms, from Springfield to Newburyport, can continue to utilize them to develop technologies to keep our military strong, advance medical breakthroughs, and develop energy sources that are renewable and clean."

Small businesses awarded funding through SBIR or STTR work through three incremental phases. Yesterday’s legislation will increase the awards from $100,000 to $150,000 for Phase I, and from $750,000 to $1 million for Phase II.

SOURCES: Library of Congress, Sen. John Kerry's Online Office, U.S. Small Business Administration
____________________

Duct Tape Marketing® Ultimate Marketing System: Simple, Effective and Affordable Small Business Marketing

Ten Things a Company Can Do to Support Earth Hour

On March 28, 2009, at 8:30 p.m., tens of millions of people around the world will turn out their lights for one hour -- Earth Hour — to demonstrate their concern for our living planet, and send a loud message to our leaders that they support action on climate change. Here are a few ideas for ways your organization can support and publicize the annual World Wildlife Fund-originated event:

1. Hold a contest among employees, with a prize for the best ideas for reducing waste and cutting energy consumption in your company’s daily operations.

2. Ask your business partners, suppliers and industry peers to support Earth Hour. Hang banners and posters so that your support is visible to all who enter your offices or buildings.

3. Turn your website “go black” during the week leading up to Earth Hour; make all white backgrounds black and all black text white. [Google did this in 2008!] Post a blurb about the event on your homepage that links to the Earth Hour home page.

4. Hold a companywide event or celebration for employees the week proceeding Earth Hour and serve “green-themed” refreshments. Host an Earth Hour “lights out” party for your staff, customers and vendors on the night of the event. Be sure to turn out the lights, etc., at 8:30 p.m. local time.

5. Schedule a meeting or send an e-mail to employees from the chairman or CEO explaining why the company is supporting Earth Hour, and urge them to “turn out” at home. The entire executive team, including the CEO, should pledge to participate as well.

6. Create an Earth Hour section on the company intranet where employees can post ideas for celebrating Earth Hour and photos following up the event.

7. Hold employee contests, with awards going to the staff member who recruits the most people to sign a pledge to say they will participate, or who comes up with the most creative promotional idea for Earth Hour.

8. Ask the company cafeteria to hold a special candlelight lunch the week of Earth Hour, featuring dishes prepared using organic and sustainably products to remind employees about the event.

9. Create special TV, radio and newspaper ads to showcase your company’s participation in Earth Hour, and to urge others to join.

10. Issue a news release and contact news media and radio stations and tell them what your company is doing to support Earth Hour and why.

For a variety of Earth Hour-related downloads -- e.g., T-shirt logos, posters, postcards, iPhone wallpaper, stickers -- go to: http://www.earthhour.org/downloads/.
____________________

Build Your Own Professional Solar and Wind Power Generators Faster and Cheaper Than You Ever Thought Possible!