The Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) hosted its annual Industry Growth Forum in Denver, Colorado, earlier this week. During the event — which attracted nearly 400 investors, entrepreneurs, scientists and thought leaders — several clean energy companies where honored with NREL’s Best Venture and Outstanding Venture Awards.

The award winners were as follows:

HiQ Solar, Inc. (Santa Clara, California) received the top prize, the Best Venture award, for developing a new generation photovoltaic string inverter which promises to reduce the cost of commercial solar installations.

ClearCove Systems, of Rochester, New York, earned an Outstanding Venture award for its efforts in renewable energy resource recovery in wastewater treatment processes.

Finally, Wetzel Blade (Pflugerville, Texas), took home an Outstanding Venture award for creating in innovative, field-assembled, component-based wind turbine blade.

Award winners will receive in-kind commercialization support to help increase their chances of becoming commercially successful.

Beyond the awards presentations, the two-day Industry Growth Forum featured business case presentations from 30 clean energy companies. In addition, participants were treated to a comprehensive lineup of speakers, in-depth panel discussions and organized networking opportunities.

"A high level of technical and business innovation will be necessary to solve our future energy challenges," said Richard Adams, NREL's director of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center. "This forum brings together the entrepreneurs, investors and policymakers that will be critical to nurturing that innovation and bringing it to market."