Eco City at the Cleantech Forum
San Francisco
“Through bold policy leadership and aggressive economic development efforts, San Francisco has become a leading center for the cleantech industry,” said Mayor Ed Lee on the rainy Tuesday of March 27th, 2012.
As a kick-off to the two-day Cleantech Forum, the Cleantech Group named San Francisco as the ‘Cleantech Capital of North America’. Mayor Lee accepted the award on behalf of the city in an outdoor ceremony held in Eco City – a public showcase for the latest clean technology available on the market. San Francisco is home to one of the largest and most concentrated cleantech clusters across the globe – 208 cleantech companies and cleantech investors.
Rainwater HOG in the elements at Eco City
Hold on! What is clean technology, you might ask? Clean Edge, a clean technology research firm, defines it as “a diverse range of products, services, and processes that harness renewable materials and energy sources, dramatically reduce the use of natural resources, and cut or eliminate emissions and wastes.”
Braving exposure to the elements in Eco City – set up in the Embarcadero Plaza just across from the Ferry Building – was Rainwater HOG CEO Simon Dominguez. Our multi-award winning Rainwater HOG tank has pioneered sophisticated, modular rainwater collection and storage in the USA and around the world. He was exhibiting among other cleantech innovators, including one who caught our eye. Read more about BISEM Inc’s BiPV curtain wall – energy-generating glass walls for high rise buildings – in the BUG Design section.
Exposure to, and clever re-use of, the elements (such as wind, rain, and sun) is what cleantech is all about. Exposure to the estimated 20,000 pedestrians who walk through the plaza daily was just an added benefit of Eco City.
The Whole HOG 