NORTHERN COLORADO BUSINESS JOURNAL: Regional companies clean up at Cleantech Awards

Windsor’s Ice Energy named Breakout Company of the Year

DENVER - Northern Colorado companies captured three of the eight inaugural Colorado Cleantech Awards presented Tuesday by the Colorado Cleantech Industry Association. The CCIA awards honor leadership in advancing cleantech.

Abound Solar, with headquarters in Loveland, a manufacturing facility near Longmont, and a total of five locations throughout the region, was named High Impact Cleantech Company of the Year. Abound is producing the next generation of thin-film cadmium telluride solar modules suited for large- and utility-scale commercial installations. With the support of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the spinoff from Colorado State University has raised approximately $600 million in private equity investment and federal loan guarantees from the U.S. Department of Energy. With that capital, the company has hired 350 employees and has plans to expand to over 1,500 by 2014. The company already is tripling the size of its manufacturing facility.

Ice Energy of Windsor was named Breakout Cleantech Company of the Year. Ice Energy's smart-grid platform integrates distributed energy storage technology with an advanced software infrastructure and intelligent two-way control to provide utilities with a cost-effective alternative to conventional peaking power plants. In January, Ice Energy announced an agreement with the Southern California Public Power Authority to undertake the nation's first utility-scale, smart grid-enabled distributed energy storage project, designed to offset enough peak demand to power the equivalent of 10,000 homes, and reduce carbon emissions equal to removing 3,000 cars.

VanDyne SuperTurbo of Fort Collins was named Emerging Cleantech Company of the Year. The company, a spinout from Woodward Governor, specializes in the design, development and production of SuperTurbochargers for the global automotive market and for heavy-duty engine manufacturers. A SuperTurbocharger is a transmission-driven turbocharger that can function as a supercharger or a turbo compounder to recover waste heat that is added to engine power. In August, VanDyne announced that it had signed a contract with Cummins Inc. (NYSE: CMI) to develop more fuel-efficient Class 8 trucks using SuperTurbochargers.

Rocky Mountain Institute of Snowmass was recognized as the National Cleantech Leader.

CCIA also handed out individual accolades at its awards celebration at the Denver Marriott City Center. Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter was named Political Advocate of the Year for his efforts to launch the state's New Energy Economy. Raymond R. Johnson, CEO of Littleton-based Infinite Power Solutions, was honored as the Cleantech Entrepreneur of the Year, and Ron Bernal of Boulder-based venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates received the Governor's Award for Excellence in Cleantech Leadership.

Winners were selected by CCIA's Awards Committee from 20 finalists that emerged from a statewide call for nominations.

"We want to extend our congratulations to this year's winners and finalists, plus extend sincere appreciation from the Colorado Cleantech Industry to these outstanding companies and individuals who have truly made a difference as they've forged their paths in the cleantech sector," said Christine Shapard, CCIA executive director, in announcing the awards.

Ira Ehrenpreis, noted venture capitalist and cleantech industry expert, delivered the keynote address at the luncheon event.

For a complete list of finalists, go to www.coloradocleantech.com.