News: NIREC in the News | Nevada News | Industry News
NIREC IN THE NEWS
May 16, 2012 (Las Vegas and Reno, NV)—The Nevada Institute for Renewable Energy Commercialization (NIREC) is pleased to announce that Randolph J. Townsend has joined its Board of Trustees.
Townsend has a storied career in the worlds of both business and politics, and remains passionate about building a better future for Nevada and its people.
Young Professionals in Energy Announces a New Nevada Chapter - and its Initial Activities
April 25, 2012 (Las Vegas, Nev.) - Professional networking groups have been growing in popularity throughout the country. The energy industry’s Young Professionals in Energy (YPE) has been in Las Vegas since Monday for its annual summit. At the group’s Opening Night Party, the formation of a new Nevada chapter (YPE Nevada) was announced, along with details of the organization’s first activities:
May 14 – Electric Vehicle Test Drive & Copper Mountain Plant Tour (Las Vegas; Boulder City)
May 17 – Electric Vehicle – Gourmet Food Truck Scavenger Hunt (Reno)
May 24 – Tour of the Geothermal Operations at the Peppermill (Reno)
NIREC is pleased to announce its sponsorship of the Lt. Governor's Award given for the business plan that best employes clean, renewable or efficient energy technologies or services. The award is bestowed annually at the Donald W. Reynolds Governor's Cup collegiate business plan competition in Nevada.
The competition encourages the development and commercialization of ideas and technologies discovered in Nevada universities. This aligns with NIREC's commitment to support clean energy commercialization from Nevada's research institutions.
NIREC is honored to also provide preliminary and final judges for the competition.
We wish all teams well and look forward to new and innovative ides for clean energy products and services.
We invite the NIREC community to join in the celebration at the Awards Dinner on April 18. Tickets and information at http://ncfeat.camp8.org/events?eventId=409830&EventViewMode=EventDetails
March 21, 2012 (Las Vegas and Reno, NV)—The Nevada Institute for Renewable Energy Commercialization (NIREC) is pleased to announce that it has expanded its physical presence in Nevada by co-locating new offices at the northern and southern science centers of the Desert Research Institute (DRI) in Reno and Las Vegas respectively while maintaining an existing office at Sierra Nevada College in Incline Village.
Economic growth is increasingly dependent upon the transition of ideas from public and private sector research to the market, thereby creating new enterprises and jobs around clusters of demonstrated competencies. In Nevada, one of those strategic clusters is clean energy−and as an ‘innovation intermediary,’ NIREC is focused on building a more robust commercialization ecosystem in partnership with leading-edge researchers, experienced entrepreneurs and financial investors in the Silver State.
With the economy still languishing and no dramatic change in sight, questions need to be asked: Is the green movement retaining the fervor it had seen in the past? Does alternative energy have a shot at becoming a diversifying factor for Nevada? How will the movement ultimately affect Nevada’s diversity base? Are the jobs there for the long run? Does the industry stand on its own without government subsidiaries? And should Nevadans stop putting money into or simply view it as a long-term investment that needs to be made?
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid Releases New Report on the Clean Energy Economy in Nevada
March 12, 2012 (Las Vegas, NV)—Nevada is leading the way toward the development of a new clean energy economy by continuing to develop its substantial geothermal, solar and wind energy resources throughout the state, according to a new report release today by Senator Harry Reid . . .
Cleantech Open and NIREC team up to help clean energy entrepreneurs in Nevada
Nevada’s clean energy entrepreneurs will get a boost this month when Cleantech Open, the world’s largest clean energy accelerator and business competition, announces the opening of a Nevada chapter and a new partnership with the Nevada Institute for Renewable Energy Commercialization (NIREC).
Clean energy entrepreneurs, potential mentors, economic development officers, government leaders and media are invited to the statewide Cleantech Open Nevada introduction, occurring simultaneously in Las Vegas and Reno, Thursday, March 22 at 9:00 am at Desert Research Institute. (Details: www.nirec.org/cleantechopennv.html.)
The Cleantech Open business plan competition is known for its highly acclaimed training program. Semifinalists participate in the accelerator and regional competitions. Finalists advance to the national Global Forum, informally dubbed the “Academy Awards for clean energy startups,” where final judging occurs and regional prize winners and the national $250,000 prize package winner are announced at the Awards Gala.
“Until now, entrepreneurs from Nevada traveled to California to participate in our mentoring activities,” said Cleantech Open Regional Director Erik Steeb. “Our new presence in Nevada and the NIREC partnership will bring greater in-state support for participants in the competition.”
Cleantech Open has awarded over $5 million in cash and services; 581 companies have participated in the program and raised more than $660 million in external funding.
“NIREC has worked with several startups that have done well in the competition,” says NIREC President and CEO Walt Borland. “As an intermediary for clean energy innovation in Nevada, deepening our relationship with Cleantech Open enhances our ability to champion entrepreneurially-driven activities throughout the state.”
The Director of Cleantech Open Nevada, Chip Evans adds, “I invite all clean energy startups, as well as professionals who can serve as mentors, to join us at the launch event and take part in Cleantech Open Nevada. Everyone who participates takes away something valuable from the experience.”
About NIREC
The Nevada Institute for Renewable Energy Commercialization (NIREC) is a nonprofit public-private partnership that integrates researchers, experienced entrepreneurs, business executives, and financial capital to identify, fund and accelerate the development of clean energy technologies.
Contact:
Jackie Phillips
jackie.phillips@nirec.org
775-881-7546
Chip Evans
cevans@cleantechopen.com
775-240-1222
Leaders talk about growing a green economy and developing clean energy solutions, but the (mostly-male) talent trolling the halls of the Gaylord National Harbor Convention Center for the ARPA-E 2012 Innovation Summit last week was filled with folks actually doing it.
One of the keynote speakers who brought the engineers face-to-face with reality was Steve Blank, a serial entrepreneur who boasts...
Last week, President Obama signed a bill reauthorizing the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs for another six years. This long-term reauthorization is good news for the innovative small businesses that these programs support. SBIR and STTR invest about $2.5 billion a year in America’s most promising small research and development companies.
NEVADA NEWS
Adoption of Lithium Ion (Lithium Iron Phosphate) Battery Solutions in Numerous Military, Zero-Idle, Utility, Mobility and Medical Energy Storage Equipment Applications Drives Manufacturing, R&D and Job Growth at K2 Energy Solutions
In The Economist: Nevada is gaming, tourism, mining--and is working on an economic diversification strategy (including renewable energy) to be even more!
Clean energy new years resolutions for Nevada by the Reno News & Review
Some say an education system overhaul is needed to create the skilled work force that high-tech companies require. Others, like LINQ360 Innovation Center founder Scott Garrison, say the answer is money.
That's why Garrison is planning to launch a $100 million investment fund for tech startups and fledgling companies that need a small financial boost. Garrison is in talks with investors and expects the fund to be up and running by January.
This story recaps how Churchil County has handled geothermal development and the additional financial resources it has provided.
Nevada State Office of Energy (NSOE) Director Stacey Crowley named 11 members today to the New Energy Industry Task Force, an existing statutory committee that Gov. Brian Sandoval tasked with examining energy transmission issues in an executive order last week. A technical advisory committee was also appointed to assist the task force in assessing a regional market for Nevada’s renewable energy resources.
Nevada stands at a crossroads, yet it appears ready to remap its future.
Silver Staters sense that the current economic slump has not been just a temporary reversal but a challenge to the state’s traditional growth model—one that has revealed an economy over-dependent on consumption sectors, prone to booms and busts . . .
As the University of Nevada, Reno College of Business hosts its annual Business Week, the College welcomed to campus today alumnus Rick Sontag, who brought a special gift to the University and its students – a $1 million check.
Just over a year after the last push to diversify Nevada's economy got under way, state leaders formally launched another effort -- this time dampening expectations for a gusher of new jobs in the near future.
Monday's board meeting of the Nevada Commission on Economic Development focused on setting up what will become the state's new Office of Economic Development in the next few months, as spelled out in legislation that passed in June.
INDUSTRY NEWS
The recently released Supplement to the Solar Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Solar Energy Development (Solar PEIS) identifies 17 solar energy zones for responsible utility-scale solar development on public lands. The zones are located in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah.
The Department of the Interior developed the Solar PEIS...
Nevada small business owners interested in growing their export business are receiving a shot in the arm in the form of a new grant opportunity. Designed to help improve and diversify the state's economy, the Nevada Investment & Trade Revenue Opportunities (NITRO) initiative is offering a State Trade and Export Promotion (STEP) Pilot Grant that provides...
The University of California, Davis, is launching a new interdisciplinary institute devoted to education, research and outreach in innovation and entrepreneurship, with the help of a $5 million commitment from alumni Mike and Renée Child....
The institute, which launches today, builds on the success and experience of the UC Davis Center for Entrepreneurship, which since 2006 has helped researchers and students move their innovations and ideas into the marketplace. The center’s founding director, Professor Andrew Hargadon, is now serving as the institute’s faculty director.
The U.S. Department of Energy today announced that Philips Lighting North America has won the 60-watt replacement bulb category of the Bright Tomorrow Lighting Prize (L Prize) competition. The Department of Energy's L Prize challenged the lighting industry to develop high performance, energy-saving replacements for conventional light bulbs that will save American consumers and businesses money.
A real assets investor, entrepreneur and advocate talks about how the world has changed for startups.
As part of the Obama Administration's Startup America Initiative, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced the "America's Next Top Energy Innovator" challenge, which will give start-up companies the opportunity to license groundbreaking technologies developed by the national laboratories for $1,000 and build successful businesses. As part of this effort, the Department is reducing both the cost and paperwork requirements for start-up companies to obtain an option agreement to license some of the 15,000 patents and patent applications held by our 17 national laboratories.
The wind of northwest Nevada, Mark Twain once wrote, "is by no means a trifling matter." But does harnessing its energy make economic sense?
The city of Reno plans to find out.
(membership to WSJ online may be required to read full article)
President Obama unveiled on February 14 a $12.2 billion fiscal year (FY) 2012 budget request for the Department of the Interior (DOI). The proposed 2012 budget continues DOI's "New Energy Frontier" strategy that is intended to create jobs, reduce U.S. dependence on fossil fuels and oil imports, and lessen carbon impacts. Under this proposed budget, DOI's goal is to increase approved capacity for renewable energy production on federal lands by at least 10,000 megawatts by the end of 2012, while ensuring full environmental review.
Although President Obama's fiscal year (FY) 2012 proposed budget for the U.S. Department of Agriculture decreased to $23.9 billion from the $27 billion level in FY 2010, the budget still invests $6.5 billion to support renewable and clean energy.
“Startup America” is a White House initiative to celebrate, inspire, and accelerate high-growth entrepreneurship throughout the nation. This coordinated public/private effort brings together an alliance of the country’s most innovative entrepreneurs, corporations, universities, foundations, and other leaders, working in concert with a wide range of federal agencies to dramatically increase the prevalence and success of America’s entrepreneurs.
"We see billions of dollars flowing into clean-tech, but very few organizations working as effectively as NIREC to make sure that breakthrough products can 'cross the chasm' to commercialization."
- Jim Davis, President, Chevron Energy Solutions
Website design by Artworks Design, Inc.