MIT sets prize for energy ideas ($200 K)

From the Boston Globe:

If soaring oil prices don't provide enough encouragement to develop alternative energy, MIT has come up with an extra incentive: $200,000 in cash.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology today launches the MIT Clean Energy Entrepreneurship Prize, a national competition aimed at bringing new energy technologies to market. The $200,000 prize, funded by the US Energy Department and Boston utility NStar, willgo to the team that develops and presents the best plan for commercializing alternative energy products and services.

A panel of industry experts and venture capitalists will select the winner.

"We do research, we put out white papers," said Alexander "Andy" Karsner, the Energy Department's assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy. "But you've got to have people with business plans and people willing to take risks."...MORE

From the press release:
...Additional information regarding the MIT Clean Energy Entrepreneurship Prize and the full competition is available at www.mitceep.com. Updates on the progress of teams participating in the competition will be available on the web site over the coming months.