LAS VEGAS — In the 1970s and 1980s, cities across America bet their economic futures on recruiting banks, insurance companies and other white-collar employers to replace factory and farm jobs.
In the 1990s, it was the computer industry. Then came biotech firms. The latest rage in economic development: "clean energy" companies that do everything from building windmills and solar panels to turning cow manure into fuel.
"This is bigger" than previous growth industries, said Lara Valentine, who was hired by the Austin, Texas, Chamber of Commerce to lure clean energy companies to the Texas capital. "Everything we do in this world revolves around energy."
Austin, which became a hub for high-tech during the computing revolution, is fast gaining recognition as a nationwide leader in clean energy and other clean technology ventures.
Earlier this month, SustainLane, a group that tracks sustainable living in U.S. cities, named Austin the No. 1 city for clean tech...read more
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