Behind the scenes at Cleantech Forum Shanghai

Cleantech Forum XX, the Cleantech Group's 20th assembly of clean technology investors, entrepreneurs, service providers and other influencers since 2002, is underway in Shanghai, China.

And while the main session only begins a few hours from now, some themes have been emerging in pre-sessions, closed door meetings, VIP events and the welcome reception.

Flies on the various walls of the luxury Grand Hyatt Shanghai—the highest hotel in the world, occupying the 53rd to 87th floors of a downtown tower—would be hearing well connected capital and other insiders opining that:

• Clean coal innovation is alive and well - China is emerging as the world's hotbed of clean coal R&D. Which hasn't come as a big surprise, given the vast majority of the country's power is coal-based, contributing to the legendarily poor visibility of the city's urban centers like Shanghai

• China will sort out its air quality issues - China's urban air quality isn't going to be impossible to clean up. It will get addressed. Some note its cities today are not unlike London of 150 years ago, New York of 100 years ago, or Los Angeles of 20 years ago, all of which recovered. There's optimism among the intelligentsia about this.
• Local incentive wars are wooing cleantech companies - The central government's mandate to the regions to embrace clean technology has kicked off competition between provinces and municipalities to attract clean technology companies. Some areas are giving away free land and buildings to attract cleantech jobs. That was unheard of a year ago. One thin film solar company has been approached by 13 local governments, offering "real money."
• Pongamia is on the rise - Keep an eye on the shrub pongamia pinnata (commonly referred to as just "pongamia," pron. pon-ja-MEE'-ah). Indigenous to India and Burma/Myanmar, it's being looked at as an alternative to jatropha. Cargill has apparently invested $20 million in pilot efforts.
• Mongolian wind's time could be coming - After years of wrangling with local officials, large scale wind farms could be coming soon to inner Mongolia. But distribution is still an issue: how to get that power to where it could command the best rates?

The several hundred attendees from around the world at Cleantech Forum Shanghai are abuzz with the clean technology opportunity in China. There's recognition of short term economic problems, but funds are still getting raised, attendees note. Business is still getting done.

We'll have more coverage of Cleantech Forum Shanghai throughout the next few days. Monitor our coverage here.