BIOCITY in Nottingham has signed a new agreement with the state capital of Virginia in the USA to co-promote the growing green-tech businesses sectors in both cities.

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Greater Richmond Partnership is designed to help Notts companies which offer low-carbon and renewable energy products and services gain access to Virginia's markets.

The Richmond conurbation, with its a population of 1.2 million people just two hours' drive from US capital Washington DC, has opened a dedicated green-tech incubator which has substantial private sector backing from the Fortune 500-listed energy company Dominion Resources.

The new agreement with BioCity is seen as recognition by the Americans of Nottingham's low-carbon sector and BioCity's aspirations to nurture and attract fledgling companies operating in this area.

"You're about ten years ahead of where we are in terms of wind turbine development because of the design work that has taken place in the UK since the late nineties," said Greg Wingfield, president and chief executive of the Greater Richmond Partnership.

"But there are around 600 clean-tech companies in the USA now and the sector is evolving to broaden out and take in all kinds of products and services."

He and colleague Gary McLaren, who is executive director of the Henrico County Economic Development Authority, were speaking at BioCity during a brief visit to put the seal of approval on the memorandum.

They also held a workshop about doing business in America that was hosted by Neil Horsley, chief executive of Nottingham Development Enterprise, which runs Nottinghamshire's Greentech Business Network. Local greentech businesses which attended the workshop included LEDinLight, OuterArc and Dan and Adam Limited.

The two Americans told the Post that renewable energy such as solar panels and wind turbines were still a rare sight in their part of the USA.

But spiralling fossil fuel energy costs in a nation long used to cheap petrol have made Americans look more closely at alternatives to oil.

Richmond's Dominion Resources Greentech Incubator, which opened in November 2009 in Hanover County, now hosts five companies mostly involved in the generation of renewable energy such as solar and hydrogen fuel cells.

"We have emerging sectors in wind turbine engineering on the east coast but... we are looking at ways of incentivising this type of business," said Mr Wingfield.

Nottingham greentech businesses tempted to expand into Virginia will receive free business orientation trip from the Greater Richmond Partnership.