Sep 29 - Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News - Sanford Nax The Fresno Bee, Calif.

As the world's premier farm belt, the Fresno area could become one of the leaders in the research and use of alternative and clean energy, according to a group studying the issue.

About three dozen government officials, representatives of utility companies and others with a stake or interest in clean energy met Wednesday at California State University, Fresno. They took the first steps toward developing a strategy -- a "clean-energy road map" -- for the use of renewable energy and for generating energy-related jobs in the Valley.

The group discussed ways to create a clean-technology infrastructure in the Fresno area. Participants talked about training people who know how to incorporate so-called "green" technologies into the construction process; ways to lure some of the estimated $11.2 billion of venture capital expected to be invested into clean technology by 2010; and the possibility of cities establishing "green zones," where new houses have to meet strict energy standards.

The huge amounts of waste produced by the Valley's agriculture industry and the ample sunlight make "innovative energy" a natural candidate for growth, said Ashley Swearengin, director of community and economic development at Fresno State.

Proponents say the energy effort can piggyback on the Valley's growing role in water and irrigation technology. The efforts also make sense in light of the region's dubious distinction of having some of the most polluted air in the nation, they contend.

So, the task ahead of the group that met on Wednesday is to "shape out, frame and develop something that we can identify with," said Paul Johnson, senior program director of Strategic Energy Innovations, a nonprofit organization in San Rafael that supports clean-energy projects in California.

Johnson said the latest estimates project that the San Joaquin Valley will need 3,600 megawatts of additional power over the next 20 years. Each megawatt is enough to light 700 to 1,000 houses.

"We do have some tough work ahead of us," Swearengin added. "We are in the early stages. -- It will take endurance to keep things going."

But there is reason to be encouraged, said Cyanendridge executive director of Strategic Energy Innovations. Public officials, developers and others in the Valley have become more interested in energy issues over the last five years, she said.

"At the beginning, there wasn't much interest. Now, it is starting to catch fire," Dandridge said, noting that housing groups and schools are approaching her group about energy-efficient programs.