Rochester Promotes Itself

I use Google Alerts to find interesting links and stories for some of our favorite topics, and when one alert popped into my inbox, the corresponding relevant text ad at the top of the page was for RochesterBiz.com.

The site touts the regions productive work force, plus technologies in development for biofuels and fuel cells and wind and solar energy; a PDF lists over 35 regional companies working on alternative energy technologies. The site is a great outreach for a region that, if it's anything like the nearby "Rust Belt," is scrambling to find an identity and position itself to be at the epicenter of the 21st century's biggest business (potentially, of course). At that, there should be a number of East Coast and Midwestern towns scrambling for the same position, including my own hometown of Toledo.

A quick search for "Toledo Alternative Energy" turns up no ads for similar regional organizations, but there are a few compelling organic search results:

University of Toledo's Clean and Alternative Energy Incubator
and a Toledo Blade story from Governor Ted Strickland's November visit to UT, where he touted our city as a potential alternative energy hub, identified participants like UT's solar tech research and First Solar (with a plant in suburban Perrysburg), plus a proposal to bring Spanish solar company Xunlight to the region.

Here's hoping Northwest Ohio can capitalize on this early progress in the nascent solar industry in a way that nearby Detroit has failed to do in the still-up-for-grabs alternative transportation rebirth.