by Shawn Lesser
Imagine what it would be like to replace a roof with roofing materials that generate solar electricity, without the large upfront payment. That's what San Diego based, OneRoof Energy offers US homeowners. Instead of replacing the roof and adding solar panels separately, OneRoof works with contractors to combine roof replacement and solar installation. Homeowners don't have to buy the system, they simply lease it under OneRoof's SolarSelect® Lease.
David Field, OneRoof's CEO, understood that tackling the residential solar and roofing market would be difficult. He also knew he didn't have to do it alone. He teamed up with CleanTECH San Diego, a local business incubator specializing in clean technology. By joining CleanTECH San Diego and its larger membership in the Global Cleantech Cluster Association, he's expanding his network of connections and accelerating the company's market penetration in California and Arizona.
"For us it's really been a cluster of like-minded companies," says Field. "...there's a real focus in terms of supporting clean technology and emerging businesses here."
CleanTECH San Diego is a "cleantech cluster." It guides member companies along the path of commercialization from start-up to IPO. Like many clusters, CleanTECH San Diego does this by connecting companies with advantageous partnerships, investment exposure, mentoring, seminars and workshops that bring members best practices from all over the world.
CleanTECH San Diego joined the Global Cleantech Cluster Association last fall to give its member companies a global reach and to connect them more efficiently and effectively with potential investors, partners and customers.
The Global Cleantech Cluster Association was formed in 2010 and has been called the "cluster of cleantech clusters." To date, it is a union of approximately 20 clusters and associations.
Cluster members in North America include Colorado Cleantech, Cleantech Center (Syracuse, NY), Ecotech Quebec, and more. Abroad, the GCCA includes clusters such as Swiss Cleantech,
the Finnish Cleantech Cluster, French Cleantech and Ecoworld Styria Austria, to name a few.
"The GCCA is filling a gap in the global cleantech industry," says co-founder Christian Hauselmann of Swiss Cleantech. "Cleantech clusters are decentralized organizations with a strong regional footprint: We work to promote cleantech and green jobs in our respective regions and interact with other cluster organizations individually around the world. The GCCA offers a platform bringing us all together so we can collaborate more effectively and help our companies meet their goals faster."
As decentralized organizations, cleantech clusters like Syracuse, NY CleanTech Center and the Finnish Cleantech Cluster could bring their cluster companies and policy makers together for a cleantech conference. But this method leaves the organization and implementation of such a large-scale event up to the individual clusters; it also limits exposure to the companies involved in the two clusters.
By being a part of the GCCA, cleantech clusters and their member companies vastly increase exposure for their region and their companies worldwide. The GCCA operates as a conduit for companies to harness the knowledge, experience as well as the benefits that a worldwide association of clusters has to offer. These benefits include access to potential investors, new markets, networks, innovative technologies, partnerships as well as access to best practices from established and emerging cleantech companies.
