Bechtel Announces Winner of the 2003 National Clean Energy Venture Competition

    AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- A small company commercializing
 advanced photovoltaic technology has won the 2003 National Clean Energy
 Venture Competition at the 16th NREL Industry Growth Forum.
     Advent Solar, Inc., based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, beat out 35
 competitors to take the top prize of $7,000 plus incubation services from the
 Austin Clean Energy Incubator valued at more than $3,000. Winners were
 announced Wednesday by Julie Brokaw of Bechtel Corporation, founding sponsor
 of the competition.
     Advent Solar provides a full line of advanced photovoltaic cells and
 modules based on proprietary technology aimed at dramatically reducing the
 cost of producing electricity. Advent's technology is exclusively licensed
 from Sandia National Laboratories.
     "I'm pleased to receive this award from Bechtel and want to thank NREL for
 the opportunity to present to such an illustrious group of investors and
 colleagues," said Rusty Schmit, president and chief executive officer of
 Advent. "This validates Advent's business potential, its technology, and its
 team."
     Participants in the competition were selected from hundreds of applicants
 to present their business plans to energy executives and other potential
 investors. Outstanding Presentation Awards of $1,500 cash and $500 in
 incubation services each went to ISE Corporation and Power Tube, Inc.
     ISE, based in San Diego, California, is a leading supplier of hybrid-
 electric and fuel cell drive systems for heavy-duty vehicles such as buses and
 trucks. "Our ThunderVolt hybrid-electric drive systems and technologies are
 particularly exciting because of their potential to create a clean, efficient
 transportation system," said Michael C. Simon, CEO of ISE.
     Power Tube is a Texas-based company developing novel technology for
 turning the heat of the Earth into electric power. "Its great to be recognized
 by the investment community for having a compelling clean energy business,"
 said Power Tube CEO Glen Lovelace.
     Bechtel provided $10,000 to launch the annual clean energy award in
 partnership with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and the
 Austin Clean Energy Incubator.  "As founding sponsor of this competition,
 Bechtel is proud to help showcase technological innovation and vision," said
 Brokaw, senior science and technology specialist at Bechtel. "It's exciting to
 get a sneak preview of our energy future.  Society requires abundant and
 varied supplies of clean energy, and some really smart people are working very
 hard to meet that need."
     Headquartered in San Francisco, Bechtel is a global engineering and
 construction organization, with 44,000 employees worldwide.
     Located in Golden, Colorado, NREL is a premier laboratory for renewable
 energy research. Its mission is to lead the United States toward a sustainable
 energy future by developing and employing renewable energy technologies and by
 improving energy efficiency.
     The Clean Energy Incubator is a project of the Austin Technology Incubator
 at The IC2 Institute, The University of Texas at Austin. For more info contact
 cei@ati.utexas.edu or visit www.cleanenergyincubator.com.
 
 

SOURCE  Bechtel