] The Bay Area tech industry has a tremendous amount of
] financial and human capital that can be directed toward
] developing and marketing green energy technology.

Bryan McConnell of O'Reilly Network espouses on how Silicon Valley can direct it's considerable expertise towards renewable energy development. Couldn't agree more - but the dynamic that McConnell misses is that this is much more of a marketing, development, and integration play for the Valley, not a creation or true innovation play. Big Oil and Detroit/Stuttgart were smart in the 90s. Flush with some cash, they bought most of the startups and promising technologies for renewable energy, high efficiency engines, and other techniques - essentially slaying David before he could slay Goliath. For a decade these things languished under their watch. But now that renewable energy is 'fashionable', it's clear that it's being viewed as a market differentiator. Think about it: would you rather sell another $13K car with little or no margin, or a $50K car with new technologies that has a huge marketing differential and higher margins?

Renewable Energy - The Next Opportunity for Silicon Valley