SILICON VALLEY VETS GO ALL NEW ENERGY

They're getting behind electric cars and plug-in hybrids in a big way, too.

Tech Veterans Now Investing in Alternative Energy
Matt Richtel, March 13, 2007 (NY Times)

WHO
…many technology veterans have regrouped and found a new mission in alternative energy… venture capitalists have begun pouring billions into energy-related start-ups. But that interest is now spilling over to… lawyers, accountants, recruiters and publicists… The best and the brightest from leading business schools are pelting energy start-ups with résumés. And, of course, there are entrepreneurs…

WHAT
…wind power, solar panels, ethanol plants and hydrogen-powered cars

WHEN
In the last Silicon Valley cycle…[a company] went public in 1999 and was bought for $750 million in 2000…This time around, entrepreneurs say they are not expecting such quick returns. In the Internet boom, the mantra was to change the world and get rich quick. This time, given the size and scope of the energy market, the idea is to change the world and get even richer — but somewhat more slowly…in contrast to the Internet boom, this time the companies will need actual manufactured products and customers…

WHERE
…for many in Silicon Valley, high tech has given way to “clean tech,” the shorthand term for innovations that are energy efficient and environmentally friendly…

WHY
… former dot-commers…express a sense of wonder and purpose at the thought of transforming the $1 trillion domestic energy market while saving the planet…

QUOTES
- Silicon Valley’s dot-com era may be giving way to the watt-com era.
- “There’s a large amount of bandwagon-jumping right now,” said Mark Hampton, chief executive of Blanc & Otus, a technology-oriented public relations firm whose clients have included TiVo, Sybase and Compaq. Still, he understands the interest of relative newcomers: “There’s a huge opportunity.”

- Over all, venture funding last year was still less than a third of the nearly $34 billion venture capitalists invested in the region in 2000, the peak of the bubble, according to the Center for the Continuing Study of the California Economy, based in Palo Alto.
“This is not 2000. It doesn’t feel like 2000 on the street,” said Stephen Levy, the center’s director. But, he said, “there’s no doubt there’s a buzz.”
- …the entrenched oil, coal and gas companies cannot ultimately compete with the more efficient and environmentally friendly concepts Silicon Valley envisions.
“The idea of them turning a supertanker is an apt analogy,” [a Silicon Valley entrepreneur] said. “They cannot take us over, they can only try to resist.”