The California Clean Tech Open is expanding its competition to Colorado. CCTO Director Brian Payer announced this week that the first Colorado Clean Tech Open will begin accepting submissions next spring. The California competition has also made it clear that they're looking to expand elsewhere in the country but have finalized any other programs yet.

The CCTO is working with the support of the South Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce, a partnership bound to make running the new business plan competition easier. Colorado already has a large number of clean tech companies, as well as other resources that have an interest in encouraging clean tech: the University of Colorado, numerous federal agencies — including the National Institute of Standards and Technology and its work on energy efficiency — and private cleantech companies.

In particular, companies like Tendril are doing well. Tendril announced this week, from their Boulder headquarters, a line up of energy management devices that have already received extensive attention. These devices provide real-time control of a home's energy use. Tendril has already managed to pick up $12 million in venture capital this year, and there are rumors that they might be looking for another $50 million, which they are likely to get.

Colorado has already played host to a number of cleantech initiatives, such as the Colorado Clean Tech Incubator and the Colorado Clean Tech Initiative. Organizations ranging from the Rockies Venture Club to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to the Colorado Entrepreneurial Houthouse Initiative have already been working to provide cleantech startups in the Front Range with the resources they need to move towards commercialization.

Colorado is also the home to the one competition that is often mentioned in the same sentence as the CCTO: the University of Colorado at Boulder Cleantech Innovation Challenge. The Cleantech Innovation Challenge is only open to students, but it provides the same level of business and technical assistance as the CCTO, as well as impressive prize money.

Colorado's success with past clean tech initiatives makes it a clear choice for the California Clean Tech Open's expansion. The structure necessary to support startups is already in place, unlike some of the CCTO's other options. There is also a sense that, with or without the CCTO, Colorado companies are going to continue to focus on the clean tech industry. There are plenty of startups in the area that won't need the lure of the competition to draw them in — though it make their development process a little easier.