NECEC, which includes the New England Clean Energy Council and NECEC Institute, today announced 13 finalists for its Annual “Green Tie Gala” awards, honoring exceptional companies and individuals in the region’s clean energy industry.

The winners for the award categories of Breakout Company of the Year, Emerging Company of the Year, Employer of the Year and Startup Supporter of the Year, a new category, will be announced October 30 at NECEC’s 7^th Annual Green Tie Gala at the Fairmont Copley Hotel in Boston. Below is the list of this year’s finalists:

Breakout Company of the Year: Awarded to a company that has stood out from the crowd and has made a breakthrough in their sector, hit an inflection point in revenue growth or its commercialization process and established itself as both an industry leader and market-maker.

• GreenerU
• Next Step Living
• Oasys Water

Emerging Company of the Year: Awarded to an organization that is a rising star and has emerged from its development phase with tremendous momentum, and is poised to build on that momentum with rapid sales growth.

• Ambri
• FirstFuel Software
• Retroficiency
• Utilidata

Employer of the Year: Awarded to a company that has grown its workforce by a substantial margin, developed a strong entrepreneurial and impact culture, provides great, high-paying jobs to its community and provides employees with a high quality work environment.

• Digital Lumens
• EnerNOC
• First Wind

Startup Supporter of the Year: Awarded to an organization or individual who has gone above and beyond in supporting cleantech startups, entrepreneurs and the growth of the cleantech innovation ecosystem in the Northeast.

• E2Tech (Environmental & Energy Technology Council of Maine), Jeff Marks
• Greentown Labs, Emily Reichert & Jason Hanna
• NEXUS-NY (New Energy Xcelerator in Upstate New York at High Tech Rochester), Doreen Kula

About NECEC (New England Clean Energy Council and NECEC Institute)

NECEC is a regional non-profit organization representing clean energy companies and entrepreneurs throughout New England and the Northeast through programs and initiatives that help clean energy businesses at all stages of development to access the resources they need to grow. NECEC includes New England Clean Energy Council, which is the lead voice for hundreds of clean energy companies across New England, influencing the energy policy agenda and growing the clean energy economy, and NECEC Institute, which leads programs that support Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Cluster and Economic Development and Workforce Development. NECEC’s mission is to accelerate the region’s clean energy economy to global leadership by building an active community of stakeholders and a world-class cluster of clean energy companies.