SSTI Digest

The Small Business Administration (SBA) announced a new pilot program that will to support more than 1,000 startup and earlystage firms across the country. The goal of the Entrepreneurial Mentor Corps' (EMC) is to mobilize members of the current generation of successful business owners to mentor and support startups and entrepreneurs to help them become the next generation of great American companies. In February, SBA Administrator Karen Mills announced one of the EMC's first initiatives to match approximately 100 clean energy startups with mentors. Four regional ‘accelerators’ will identify and match mentors with the clean energy startups. The four accelerators funded in the initial stage of the EMC's clean energy project include:

• CleanTech Open (Bay area and New England);
• CleanTECH San Diego (Southern California and the Southwest);
• Clean Energy Trust (Midwest); and,
• Nevada Institute for Renewable Energy Commercialization (Mountain Region).

Read the Press Release

Led by Govs. Bill Richardson and Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Western Governors' Association (WGA) announced last week it would support opportunities to develop a clean, secure and diversified energy system for the West and to capitalize on the region's energy resources. The New Mexico and California governors, respectively, are among those represented by the nonprofit WGA.

Western Governors adopted a resolution that builds upon recommendations the governors received from the nearly 700 participants at the North American Energy Summit, held by WGA in April. Among the major goals of the resolution is reaching 30,000 megawatts of clean energy by 2015 and a 20 percent improvement in energy efficiency by 2020.

James Souby, executive director of the Western Governors' Association for the past 13 years, is resigning to become president and CEO of a new private think tank.