Texas Green Energy Report Online

Inquisite, a provider of Web-based survey technology and services, has joined ranks with the Austin Clean Energy (ACE) Initiative to help make Central Texas an economic center for the nation’s clean energy industry.

Austin, Texas – December 17, 2002 [SolarAccess.com] Using Inquisite’s automated survey software, the ACE Initiative surveyed clean-energy-related enterprises across the United States this fall for a report on the state of this growing industry. Findings of the survey were released in mid-November by the ACE Initiative, a group of entrepreneurs, investors and business owners, and the University of Texas’ IC2 Institute, a think tank that fosters technology-based, regional economic development and job creation in the Austin area. Entitled “Enriching Economy and Environment: Making Central Texas the Center for Clean Energy,” the report will be used to help position the area as a hub for enterprises developing technologies that exploit wind, solar, geothermal and other renewable resources, said Chris Engle, senior analyst with Angelou Economics, an economic development consulting firm specializing in technology companies. Angelou Economics, an ACE Initiative partner organization and an underwriter for the report, developed the survey’s questions, which Inquisite built and hosted. According to the report, the Central Texas region is already home to 80 of the state’s 335 clean energy enterprises. Those businesses generate more than US$250 million in annual revenues and employ some 2,600 people. The current worldwide clean energy industry is estimated at US$142 billion a year and is expected to grow to US$450 billion by 2020.