The “Valley of Death” is a well known concept in the business startup and technology community. It’s the place where good ideas go to die. If small businesses are the lifeblood of economic growth and job creation, entrepreneurs and startup companies are the marrow. While the entrepreneurial path has never been easy, it has become even tougher in today’s economic climate.

Let me give you an example of the challenges for clean technology entrepreneurs that I see every day. In a business such as ours, which is “technology agnostic” in the sense that we aren’t tied to any one manufacturer or product, innovation and access to new technology are critical success factors.

Ed Note: This is the second in a handful of guest posts we felt worth publishing on behalf of Chevron. Although we have mixed feelings about many aspects of the oil industry, Chevron’s sponsorship of today’s cleantech open speaks to their willingness to enter into a productive dialog with entrepreneurs building a new energy economy.

[Read entire article at 3P]

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. (October 28, 2009) — The Cleantech Open announced William Weihl, Green Energy Czar at Google, will present the keynote address during the “Academy Awards of Cleantech” Awards Gala at The Masonic Center in San Francisco on November 17, 2009.

As the Green Energy Czar at Google, Weihl leads efforts in energy efficiency and renewable energy, and manages the company’s greenhouse gas footprint. “We see a chance to make a difference in the field of renewable energy and energy information that can help bring the world to a lower carbon and more efficient economy,” said Weihl of Google’s initiative to become carbon-neutral.”

Weihl is an experienced technologist, entrepreneur and committed environmentalist with deep and broad experience in computer science. His extensive business and high-tech experience includes ten years as a professor of Computer Science at MIT, five years as a research scientist at Digital’s Systems Research Center and five years as Chief Architect and then CTO of Akamai Technologies.

“Weihl’s generous gift of his time and energy speaks to the immediate need to not only have big business participate in identifying entrepreneurs that show promise in ideas that seek to build a clean energy future, but to also actively engage the nation’s future thought leaders and inventors of clean technology,” said Rex Northen, executive director of the Cleantech Open.

The Cleantech Open is made possible by the generous support provided by National Expansion Sponsor: U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy; Platinum Sponsor: PG&E; Gold Sponsors: Autodesk, The Cleantech Circle, Google, Southern California Edison, San Diego Gas and Electric, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich and Rosati; Silver Sponsors: Accretive Solutions and RoseRyan; and Program Sponsors: California Clean Energy Fund, Ernst and Young, and Korn/Ferry International.

To learn more about the Cleantech Open, or to attend the Expo and Awards Gala, visit www.cleantechopen.com.

Over the last few weeks Sensible City has been putting Re: Vision Dallas and Urban Revision in the ears, eyes and minds of the most popular and influential blogs, media portals and news services.  A big idea loves hard work and together we’ve helped spread the world for Urban Revision online. The following is a list of some of our favorite hits.  Stay tuned as we aren’t done yet.

Inhabitat takes a closer look at honorable mention receiver The Co-Op 

Konstructr’s Vik Duggal interviews John Greenan 

Cameron Sinclair of Huffington Post discusses the greening of George Bush’s backyard  

Treehugger’s Jesse Fox discusses the Re: Vision Dallas winners 

Cliff Kuang and Fast Company explore the 3 ideas behind the winning entries  

Dwell gives you their take on the winners

The gospel continues to spread:

Build Baby Build

NBC Dallas Fort Worth Slide Show   

Sustainable Cities Collective

Archicentral:

Texas Sustainability 

Sky Studios

Solve Climate

Landscape Urbanism

Otto

Larry James’ Urban Daily

Larry James’ Everyday Citizen

LEED Loop

Creative Loafing Sarasota

Architecture Competitions

Green Building and Enviro Trends 

Jetson Green  

ORLANDO, Fla. – It’s good enough to power the most expensive real estate in the universe – the International Space Station. Now it will help power one of the biggest buildings in Orlando. Steve Gehlbach has the enlightening details.

Media: register here.

See also:

Dr. Rajendra Pachauri (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change)

As renewable energy technologies become more competitive, investing in them is becoming a more viable venture. Yet, uncertainties about cost and ROI are still keeping some investors at bay.

Wind blows, rain falls and the sun shines, but differently at different times and locations, making wind, hydroelectric and solar power dependent upon weather and climate systems. A new Northwest-based energy efficiency company, 3TIER, is using their science skills and computer smarts to remove some of that guesswork.

[Read entire story at Worldchanging.com]