Clean energy to Texas

I was reading an article today about how a few companies have joined the Austin clean energy partnership (http://www.statesman.com/business/content/business/stories/technology/12/04/1204energy.html). If these companies lend real technologies and support to this cause could mean a great many possibilities. These companies have top engineers that are wired to problem solve and create solutions to real problems. These folks work on minute cutting edge technologies that create huge leaps for their companies and their industries. We as residents could reap huge benefits as a pilot community for energy savings down the road. With a partnership with state higher education, these high-tech companies, and some state and federal funding and support could pave the way for future energy independence. This is the type of small scale research that could make inroads flying under the radar until a major breakthrough is developed. My experience working in semiconductor gives me the knowledge that these engineers are really smart people that normally jump at a chance to work outside of their normal technologies. Dell, Freescale (a spin off from Motorola), and Microsoft have the best of the best working on their technologies. Allowing them an allotment is a win-win situation for the companies. They refresh their engineers and give them a senses of community involvement, the company gets some great press, and the research gets top engineering minds to look at opportunities from an advanced perspective. Austin gets a leading look at what is around the corner and could possibly be a pilot city for new solar or other energy system that once put into place could save millions. This development won’t come overnight, maybe not even in the next decade, but if it develops it will happen in our backyard. Texas was once the oil capitol of the world, I wonder if the next energy development will be in our lifetime in our city. Lets hope these companies follow through lending real support and not just their name.