Businesses Await Clean Energy Fund

Mike Peevey, California Public Utilities Commission president, has set his sights on fighting global warming?in part by using increased investments in advanced metering and other innovative technology to promote solar power. He publicized his commitment last week in a speech to technology firms, in which he noted that a CPUC-administered program established by the Pacific Gas & Electric bankruptcy settlement could facilitate the metering side of solar power. While that program, the Clean Energy Fund, has made limited progress so far, its mere existence gives some innovators hope. One fledgling software company says the fund?s potential infusion of money for metering could make a vital difference in its chances for success. Technological innovation is one of the most important protections the state has against the threat of climate change, Peevey declared last week ( Circuit , October 15, 2004). Peevey called the Clean Energy Fund key to helping nascent, underfunded technologies bring products to market. Among other things, the money is meant to ramp up marketing and sales and increase production of new wares. As part of its bankruptcy settlement, PG&E set aside $30 million to establish the Clean Energy Fund in December 2003. The fund has selected a board of directors and investment managers to oversee it, but has not yet come up with plans for businesses in which to invest. Lisa Bicker, president of the fund, conceded that the group is moving at a slower pace than expected. Bicker explained that the board of directors selection process has been time-consuming and that board membership is voluntary. She stressed, however, that the group wants to put the money to work as soon as possible. This type of fund ?sounds ideal,? said Richard Eckman, chief operating officer of Fat Spaniel Technologies, a software firm for renewables tracking. Fat Spaniel produces a metering device that can be accessed in real time through a Web site. Right now the company doesn?t have the resources to fully develop the product on its own, he said. The headquarters of the California Environmental Protection Agency will soon join about 71 sites that have installed Fat Spaniel Web-based metering. Financial assistance from the Clean Energy Fund ?would enable us to go global,? said Eckman.

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Businesses Await Clean Energy Fund

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