Nordic greentech geeks land in Menlo

Energy companies, scientists and entrepreneurs from the Nordic countries will invade Menlo Park tomorrow and Wednesday to showcase early successes and emerging technologies addressing sustainable energy production, IT infrastructure, water, building and transportation.

This two-day (April 27-28) Nordic Green II conference takes place at SRI International. It features 57 experts and promises cutting edge research and high-level discussions on the most promising green technologies and emerging entrepreneurial opportunities in California and the Nordic region.

High penetration of wind energy? Several Nordic countries are already there. Second-generation biomass? Done that. Green data centers for the enterprise? Got those, too. Mass adoption of electric vehicles? Coming soon. The extreme climate and limited natural resources in many Nordic countries forced governments and private industry to innovate in energy production and efficiency starting decades ago.

Sharing the stage with Nordic companies will be some familiar names in the U.S. , including venture capitalists Steve Jurvetson of DFJ and Jim Kim of Khosla Ventures and Ron Kent from Sempra Energy Utilities, who will outline what the San Diego utility has planned for sustainable energy.

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