Cleantech Open semifinalists underscore diverse interests.

• Author: Cote, Mike
• Position: ENTREPRENEURS

Mention "clean tech," "green tech" or the "new energy economy" and you'll likely conjure visions of solar panels, wind turbines and algae fuel ponds. The 15 semifinalists selected for the Rocky Mountain edition of the Cleantech Open aim to add a few other members to that club.

How about combating pine beetle devastation, detecting oil well leaks and treating wastewater? Those are just a few examples of the technology under way by the companies selected from Colorado, Arizona, Montana, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming to compete in the second year of the regional contest.

Initiated in California five years ago, the Cleantech Open already operates in five regions and more than 20 states. The 15 finalists were culled from more than 50 applicants. That brand of competition will help prepare the winners to compete on a global scale.

"It's about American entrepreneurism and innovation," said Richard Franklin, co-chair of the Cleantech Open, Rocky Mountain chapter, during a press conference at the Wellington Webb Municipal Building in Denver in June. "It's about the battle we'll have over the next 20 years with China."

And to underscore the regional foothold the contest has gained since its Western debut, only three of the 15 companies this year are from Colorado, compared to eight out of 12 last year.

"We are a six-state region. The fact that we have semifinalists from every other state in the region plus New Jersey and Texas is all positive," Franklin said after the press conference. "In fact, the New Jersey firm is moving to Colorado."

The semifinalist teams will receive mentoring and business training plus the chance to win $30,000 in funding and in-kind donations. Three teams will advance to the national competition where teams from across the U.S. will compete for a grand prize of $250,000 in cash and services. The national awards take place Nov. 17.

Andre Pettigrew, executive director of the Denver Office of Economic Development, said the clean-tech sector is growing faster than any other as the economy emerges from a recession. "It will give us the opportunity to compete all over the world," he said.

The competition offers more than $1 million in prizes and aims to create 100,000 green-collar jobs in America by the end of 2015.

Bill Lowstutter, whose Golden company SunTrac Solar was a 2009 Cleantech Open finalist, warned the semifinalists that they're about to go on a wild ride as they participate in training programs to help them to better...