Apr. 15--Menlo Park, a small city known for its venture capital firms, feisty politics and abundance of trees, is also becoming a hub for alternative energy innovation.

In the past six months, a handful of companies have moved to eastern Menlo Park's research and development district. The area has the space, proximity to venture capital cash and is a good location from which to scout local talent, officials from some s artups said. By attracting alternative energy research, cities stand to gain revenue, jobs, proximity to alternative energy technology and civic pride, said Margaret Bruce, environment program director for the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, a public policy organiz tion. "If we were to look back in time, the World Wide Web would have been an ephemeral fad," Bruce said.

"These startups are going to fundamentally change how we live our lives." Cities, even ones as small as Menlo Park, have a vital role to play as alternative energy becomes more common, Mayor Kelly Fergusson said. They can install solar panels on city roofs, save on gas by purchasing electric cars or convert certain waste into gas, a process that is being researched in Menlo Park. "We've got the talent, venture capital, scientists, engineers," Fergusson said. "These companies want to come here and grow." These are some of the latest: -- Unidym: Unidym's research could make electronics products faster and cheaper with something called a carbon nanotube, which would replace copper and other metals, and can be used in solar cells.

The company is also developing fuel cells for portable lectronics hydrogen vehicles. Unidym moved to Menlo Park in February. Chief Executive Officer John Miller said he wanted to be in the heart of the electronics industry and the vast talent pool that Silicon Valley offers. -- ZeaChem, Inc.: This company, which arrived in October, is researching how to mass produce cellulose ethanol. Just like the popular corn-based ethanol, this technique, once fine-tuned, can take byproducts from the agriculture industry, such as corn husks, and turn them into fuel. It's a three-step process, said CEO Dan Verser.

The byproducts are collected, broken down into sugar and fermented into alcohol. "It's a very big topic right now," Verser said. -- Direct Carbon Tech: Coal might be the dirtiest energy source on the planet. This company, however, is developing a way to harness electricity from a piece of coal without burning it and channel its electrons straight into household appliances. "It's the most abundant fossil fuel that this country, and the planet, has," said Chief Technical Officer Dr. Turgut Gur. "This country has enough coal to last 250 years." California's 2006 global warming bill, which is intended to push municipal governments into using more renewable energy, will force cities to look at the alternative energy sector, Palo Alto Council Member Peter Drekmeier said.

By creating their own energy, whether through wind, solar or waste conversion, cities will eventually fall off the massive power grids and become more self-sufficient, Drekmeirer said. "I think it is more in our advantage," he said. "I think we're going to see a wave of new technologies." E-mail Banks Albach at balbach@dailynewsgroup.com.