Calling All Experienced Entrepreneurs: New England Clean Energy Council Launches...

Calling All Experienced Entrepreneurs: New England Clean Energy Council Launches Fellowship Program to Transition Proven Executives into Massachusetts' Emerging Clean Energy Cluster

Massachusetts Technology Collaborative's John Adams Innovation
Institute To Sponsor Initial Pilot Program
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(Business Wire)--
The New England Clean Energy Council (the Council) today announced
the Clean Energy Fellowship Program - a first of its kind
entrepreneurial-development program designed to rapidly transition
experienced executives into the region's clean energy sector. The new
program addresses a simple but acute problem: a lack of repeat
entrepreneurs to help accelerate growth in the sector. It will offer
professionals from other technology sectors an intensive, half-time,
semester-length, clean energy executive-development program to
facilitate their transition. Experienced executives interested in
applying to participate in the founding pilot program should visit
www.cleanenergycouncil.org/fellowship. Applications will be accepted
until May 1st , 2008. The program begins on May 29th 2008 and will
continue through mid-September.

The Clean Energy Fellowship Program educational team is being
coordinated by Peter Rothstein, an Executive in Residence at Flagship
Ventures, and Nick d'Arbeloff, Executive Director of the New England
Clean Energy Council. The Fellowship Program's collaboration with
leading academic, research and venture capital institutions will help
the Council achieve its ultimate goal of accelerating the formation,
funding, and successful growth of the innovation-based clean energy
cluster here in New England. The Clean Energy Fellowship Program has
also received support from leading organizations focused on
entrepreneurship and innovation including the Massachusetts Technology
Collaborative's John Adams Innovation Institute.

"There are an increasing number of experienced entrepreneurs from
other sectors such as telecom, IT and life sciences that have a strong
interest in transitioning into the clean-energy sector. However, this
transition requires knowledge of the technology trends, market
drivers, industry forces, financing models, regulatory drivers and a
range of other issues unique to this sector," said Nick d'Arbeloff.
"This program will give these executives the knowledge, exposure and
contacts necessary to begin applying their skills to clean energy
venture development."

The program, developed by the Council over the past six months,
was included in House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi's recently proposed
Green Jobs Act of 2008. The program announced today will serve as a
pilot for what is hoped will be an ongoing, Massachusetts-funded
initiative.

The Council's Fellowship Program aims to add approximately 25
experienced, CEO-caliber entrepreneurs to the Massachusetts clean
energy sector each year. Run twice per year, the three- month
part-time program will consist of small classes of 10-15 high level
executives and will include:

-- Intensive classroom sessions with seminars, lectures and case
studies covering issues, trends, and details of clean energy
technologies, markets, and policies;

-- Visits to energy labs at various universities and an
instructive visit to the National Renewable Energy Lab in
Colorado in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy;

-- Capstone projects, in conjunction with area venture capital
firms and in support of potential or existing clean energy
startups.

"The venture community is increasingly focused on opportunities
presented by the need for clean energy, but a lack of fundable local
companies and entrepreneurial talent to lead those ventures is an
obstacle to investment," noted Peter Rothstein. "That's why the
community has come together through the Council to develop this
ground-breaking Clean Energy Fellowship Program. A successful
Fellowship Program could accelerate the transition of CEO-caliber
entrepreneurs into leadership roles with dozens of new clean energy
companies in our region. This will result in keeping local capital in
our region, creating thousands of new high-paying jobs and
establishing another important market sector to keep Massachusetts's
economy vibrant."

About The Council

The New England Clean Energy Council's mission is to accelerate
New England's clean energy economy to global leadership by building an
active community of stakeholders and a world-class cluster of clean
energy companies. The Council represents a diverse set of
stakeholders, including industry associations, area utilities, local
universities, labor and large commercial end-users. NECEC's ranks also
include 50 CEOs of the region's leading clean energy companies,
representatives from most of the State's top 10 law firms, and
partners from more than a dozen of the top New England venture capital
firms (with a total of more than $8 billion under management). The New
England Clean Energy Council is based in Cambridge Massachusetts. For
additional information please visit www.cleanenergycouncil.org.

The New England Clean Energy Council
Greg Wind, 617-758-4173
necec@famapr.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008