Clean tech becomes big business

WHERE TO GO

Surging demand for energy in China and India also is driving clean-energy, transportation, building and water-delivery technologies.

Along with Copenhagen and Chicago, the top-10 roster of new Silicon Valleys includes Austin, Texas; Freiburg, Germany; New York; Vancouver, British Columbia; Hyderabad, India; Portland, Oregon; San Francisco; and Shanghai.

Eight sectors with the strongest growth opportunities include solar energy, wind power, biofuels and biomaterials, green buildings, personal transportation, smart electric grid, mobile applications like portable fuel cells, and water filtration, the authors say.

But they don't tout specific stocks or securities. They prefer to lay out a blueprint of opportunities, technologies, companies and trends that may build successful businesses and strengthen economies.

Short sidebars on "breakthrough opportunities" -- for example, integrating solar power into everything from portable electronic gadgets to roof tiles to glass; filtering out pollutants from water with the aid of nanomaterial membranes -- are sprinkled through each chapter.

There are also "10 to watch" lists of one-paragraph briefs on promising clean tech companies, such as Southwest Windpower in Flagstaff, Arizona, which is targeting small single turbines for residences.

Along with the company briefs, the authors also have included a separate section of chapter notes on research and sources, a reference for anyone wanting to know more about clean tech.