Prominent greentech venture capitalist Nancy Floyd backed U.S. presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., Tuesday evening in a speech at the Democratic National Convention.
According to the prepared text of her speech in Denver, the co-founder and managing director of Nth Power said the country needs more leadership to deal with the ongoing energy crisis.
Meanwhile, investors are lining up to back technology to help lessen the world's dependency on fossil fuel, she said, adding that those investments in wind and solar technologies alone already have created 2.4 million jobs.
In July, Greentech Media's research arm reported that venture capitalists invested a record amount in greentech during the second quarter (see Greentech Taps VCs for Record Investments in 2Q).
But less than 10 percent of those jobs are in the United States, according to Floyd.
"That's because other countries have smart, stable, forward-looking energy policies," she said, which has led U.S. greentech companies to manufacture and sell their products in other countries, including Germany, Spain and China.
Floyd made this argument - that the problem is government policies, not technology - as early as 2005.
But now, Floyd sees a solution in Obama's energy plan, which includes proposals to require 10 percent of the U.S. electricity to come from renewable sources by 2012 and to get 1 million plug-in hybrid cars on the road by 2015.
Floyd has contributed $2,500 to the Obama's campaign, according Huffington Post's political-contribution tracker.
Come Nov. 4th, folks will have an opportunity to decide if they agree with Floyd or if presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., offers a better option.
Some have said that the two candidates don't sound much different when they talk about their energy and emissions goals.
Earlier this month, representatives from McCain and Obama campaigns took slightly different stances on the question of state versus federal rights -- and how those positions could impact the future of greentech (see Will Next Prez Clash With States Over Energy Plans?).
The candidates also disagree somewhat on the role that nuclear power should play in the country's energy mix (see McCain, Obama, Clinton Reps Talk Energy).