By Gene Grant
For the Journal
Over three days last week, this city threw down a marker for the rest of the country— and possibly the world— to chase us on the notion of a green economy.
It started Wednesday with the Journal report that New Mexico is recently ranked No. 1 in the country for technology investment over the last decade. More on what that investment means for a green economy in a moment.
On the same day, Mayor Martin Chávez announced that Albuquerque is the first city to sign a "green jobs pledge," meaning the city will commit to using its purchasing power to create markets for renewable energy, sustainable development and anything else green. A most interesting flare to send up to the green industry. Nice stuff there. That is, however, on the back end of the cycle.
On Thursday, the front end of the equation was in full display at the annual Equity Capital Symposium, put on by Technology Ventures Corp. Slugged as, "15 Years of Moving the Needle," my take after watching a dazzling display of entrepreneurs proposing funding opportunities to a roomful of venture capitalists is that the needle is now pegged.
It all came into full focus when Kelly Ward, CEO of Green Polymer Technologies Inc., walked onto the stage, looked the crowd dead in the eye and said, "My name is Kelly Ward, and I'm a green capitalist."
Hello.
The presentations included the development of a synthetic process to convert cellulose into ethanol. A process to convert crop oils to military and transportation fuels. Another method to enable the bonding of dissimilar resins, or eliminating the sorting of different plastics, resulting in a streamlined way to recycle plastics as raw material for manufacturing. A mind-blowing miniature nuclear power generator (mini, as in the size of two bathtubs) using a uranium hydride core— and no troubling nuclear rods— that harnessed to a steam turbine, generates enough power to sustain 20,000 homes off the grid.
By this point, my head was spinning on the possibilities. But there was plenty more.
A photovoltaic application for solar skylights (yes, that dome above you) resulting in electrical power usage below current market pricing. Following that, a thermal water heater using solar energy that produces up to 30 percent more energy for your pennies.
A transportable technology to clean and re-use the 22 billion gallons of wastewater created annually by the oil and gas industry, known as "produced water." Note that there are 500 million gallons of produced water generated in this state each year.
It was a tour de force to say the least. Let's stop and tip our hats here to both Sandia and Los Alamos national labs, which both have a role in every one of these technologies.
Bottom line? The green jobs. Loads of them. And along the way water is saved, developing nations get power, crops go back on plates instead of fuel tanks, your monthly nut to the power company drops, and a lot more.
These men and women, green capitalists all, are putting meat on this rather amorphous green-collar job term. To date, a green job is anyone willing to put on work gloves and sort plastic bottles.
It takes the synergy of risk capitol, entrepreneurial ingenuity, a nuanced governmental approach, and customers to make this happen. From here it looks like we've got all four in motion.
We are onto something, and if we manage this with a new attitude, energy and creativity, those No. 1 designations are coming our way in more ways than we can even imagine.
Gene Grant is a writer, actor, former congressional staffer and father of two. He can be reached by e-mail at gene@genegrant.com.
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