CleanTECH San Diego picks up Regional Industry Clusters of Opportunity grant from California for biofuels development

In San Diego, CleanTECH San Diego, the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation and the Imperial Valley Economic Development Corporation have been awarded a Regional Industry Clusters of Opportunity II (RICO II) grant from the California Workforce Investment Board.  This $250,000 grant is funded by Assembly Bill 118, Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program, through the California Energy Commission and will help facilitate the continued development of our region’s biofuels industry.

With the successful conclusion of the EDGE initiative, a state funded, industry-led program to train and educate workers in the biofuels industry, San Diego and Imperial Valley face additional obstacles in developing our biofuels industry.  As companies like Cellana, Sapphire Energy and Synthetic Genomics continue to refine their products here regionally, they’re turning elsewhere to commercialize their suite of biofuels products.  Although the research and development jobs remain in California, the majority of these high-waged green collar jobs are forced to leave the state.

“In response to this trend,” said CleanTech San Diego’s Jason Anderson, “RICO II will allow us to work closely with the biofuels industry to better understand its growth projections and more importantly to understand its regulatory obstacles. Using the technical assistance provided by RICO II, the grant partners will collect updated and relevant industry information and analyze the permitting process that companies must follow in order to build a demonstration/commercialization project in the Imperial Valley.  The partnership will work with industry stakeholders to help formulate policy recommendations, at all levels, that streamline the permitting process and thereby encourage companies and their workforce to grow in our region.”