Investing in clean tech powers up former Oracle executive: VC partner to speak at Denver Sustainable-business Summit.

• Author: Cote, Mike
• Position: COTE'S colorado

Getting involved in public policy is not something you normally associate with a venture capital firm. But when you're investing in alternative energy startups, it's hard to level the playing field: Your competition has a 100-year head start.

Lucky for you, former Vice President Al Gore recently joined your stable.

Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers built its reputation in the Silicon Valley for its information technology and life sciences investments. But over the past four years, the company has added 30 companies to its clean-tech portfolio. About a third of the firm's latest fund, which totals $600 million, will be invested in companies pursuing technologies designed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

"One thing we're getting very involved in, which is not endemic in the IT and life-sciences space, is in policy setting. You can call it lobbying, I guess," says Ray Lane, managing partner for Kleiner Perkins. "That's a very new thing for us that we're very involved with. Obviously, bringing Al Gore into the partnership puts us in the middle of that fray."

Lane is scheduled to deliver a keynote address at the third annual Sustainable Opportunities Summit in Denver, set for Feb. 27-29 at the Four Points by Sheraton Denver Southeast. The conference is designed to help companies learn how to profit from addressing climate change and establishing corporate "green" initiatives. (Check out corecolorado.org for details.)

Lane is best known for his work with Oracle, where he served as president and chief operating officer. He still keeps his eye out for promising software companies but spends nearly all of his time these days scouting energy startups.

"This gets me out of bed every day," Lane said during a phone interview from California. "I've turned 60, and I said I want something that really educates me and rejuvenates me."

Among Kleiner Perkins' portfolio companies is Golden-based Luca Technologies, which is using microbes to convert coal into natural gas.

"I think this country is facing a natural gas price crisis in the next five years like we faced in oil," Lane said. "It's going to be important to generate natural gas within this country. If you can do it from coal, which is our biggest resource, then great."

Lane said he won't spend much time in his Denver address talking about the conditions that are driving entrepreneurs to discover...