Lately, I’ve been hearing about a lot of investment going into green companies and technology, which has me wondering: Is “green” the new tech boom? GE is “doubling down” on clean tech investments. According to Cleantech Network, last year’s 4th quarter saw $600 million in venture capital investments. So, if the opportunities are ripe for budding entrepreneurs and you have a great idea, how do you get started? The 2nd annual California Clean Tech Open might just be your ticket to success.

Sponsored by Acterra: Action for a Sustainable Earth, a non-profit based in Palo Alto, the competition seeks to solicit business plans from new clean tech companies. According to Acterra, the competition serves to, “…create economic growth and environmental sustainability by sparking a clean technology cluster in California. By giving winners early-stage capital and expertise, the competition speeds clean technologies from lab to market. The goal is to foster innovative new businesses.”

The best of these new businesses will each win prize packages valued at $100,000. These “startup in a box” packages include business essentials, designed to help the winners take their ideas from the planning phase into operation. For starters, winners in each of the competition’s six categories will receive $50,000 in cash from their category’s sponsor:

• Transportation, sponsored by Lexus
• Smart Power, sponsored by AMD
• Green Building, sponsored by Google
• Air, Water and Waste, sponsored by ENVIRON Foundation
• Renewables, sponsored by PG&E, SCE and SDG&E
• Energy Efficiency, sponsored by PG&E, SCE and SDG&E

Winners will also receive one year of free office space, as well as a range of free services, including legal, accounting, and public relations. Additional prizes will also be awarded to all finalists.

Last year’s Open garnered 156 entries, but this year the competition is expected to be tougher, with double the number of entries received by the June 30th deadline. Winners will be announced in October.

To help you fine tune your entries, an Executive Summary Workshop will be held on June 14th at the Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). This event will provide information about the application requirements and judging criteria for the required three-page executive summary. It will also include an overview of the sustainability judging criteria, and some sustainability best practices.

With all of this support and incentive, what are you waiting for?