Solar panels

OK, my headline might be stretching the point. But it might not.

Look what is coalescing in Berkeley:

I suspect there are other initiatives I’ve left out.

Then there’s the policy leadership shown by the City of Berkeley with its Financing Initiative for Renewable and Solar Technology (FIRST).  Vice-president Joe Biden recently launched a report that urges wholesale adoption of a Berkeley-style financing program for solar. Add to that the fact that Bay Area venture capitalists are the source for the bulk of start-up cleantech investments globally.

I can’t think of a more natural home for such pioneering work. It offers the prospect of a very exciting future for Berkeley, particularly if the city can find ways to welcome the entrepreneurs that are certain to emerge from the research over time.

Photo by Kevin T Houle from Flickr

Lance Knobel (Berkeleyside co-founder) has been a journalist for nearly 40 years. Much of his career was in business journalism. He was editor-in-chief of both Management Today, the leading business magazine...