Citing the all-important economic case for advancing green technology, TechNet today issued a challenge to Congress and the president to, among other things, invest more seed money in sustainable-energy initiatives and offer greater tax incentives to go green. TechNet, a political network of CEOs, released its Green Tech Policy Agenda for America, spelling out the familiar and certainly important environmental TechNet, a political network of CEOs, released its Green Tech Policy Agenda for America, spelling out the familiar and certainly important environmental and national-security-oriented cases for fostering green-tech growth, but also outlining the increasingly recognized business case for weaning the U.S. from its foreign-oil addiction and advancing more energy-efficient technologies such as solar, wind, biofuels, and fuel cell design. “Clean-energy innovations are positioned to be the next great disruptive technologies with the potential to revolutionize the energy industry, spurring economic growth and creating new industries and jobs,” the report says.Emphasizing the sentiments of the report, John Chambers, chairman and CEO of Cisco and TechNet co-founder, had this to say: “America has a unique opportunity to play a vital role in the world’s transition to cleaner energy sources as companies continue to embrace solutions that drive efficiency and environmental improvement — and make economic sense.” Like Chambers, many business leaders are becoming increasing aware of the issues driving demand for greener, more energy-efficient technology, as evidenced by the growing number of “green” initiatives by companies like HP and Dell, as well as the unification of major IT players like Intel, AMD, Sun, IBM, and Microsoft in forming The Green Grid. “Corporations recognize that clean energy solutions are not only the right thing to do but make sound business sense,” the report reads. Venture capitalists also have jumped on board the green wagon: The TechNet report notes that North American VC funding alone toward green initiatives totaled $2.9 billion in 2006, up from $1.6 billion in 2005. The federal government, however, has been slower in funding alternative energy initatives. “Overall federal funding for basic energy and applied energy research and development fell 60% in real dollars from 1978 to 2004,” the report says. To that end, TechNet is challenging the government to double annual funding for energy research, which is currently less than $2 billion. Additionally, TechNet is urging the government to be an early adopter of green technology. “As the single largest energy consumer, the federal government’s power and influence over the energy sector cannot be overestimated. By harnessing its spending power as an early adopter of promising energy technologies, the federal government can have an immediate impact in bringing companies to wide-scale commercial viability,” the reports.(Interestingly, the report says the government uses a whopping quadrillion BTUs of energy and spends nearly $15 billion annually on energy products and services.) The report alludes to the reality that energy is the lifeblood of the modern business world and the threat of a power-shortage crisis is looming: “Demand for electricity in the United States alone is predicted to increase by approximately 50 percent in the next 25 years, while rapidly growing population centers in countries such as China and India, home to two-fifths of the world’s population, will put substantial additional pressures on conventional world energy sources.”Other items on the TechNet GreenTech Policy Agenda include: Designating a lead federal agency to elevate and oversee the energy research and demonstration mission Funding structured university partnerships and research to generate a pipeline of innovation and talent Funding public and private partnerships to support energy-efficiency initiatives and education Increasing the level of incentives to spur new energy technologies Increasing consumer incentives to change patterns of demand Encourage technology neutrality enabling the marketplace to pick winners Promoting standards based on energy demand to provide efficiency incentives Designing recommendations for a national program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through a market-based system Developing industry best practices that promote and expand corporate commitments and contributions to clean energy The report is available in its entirety here [PDF]. Technology Industry