California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday proposed 95 million U.S. dollars to keep the state at forefront of research, innovation and green technology.

The governor said the money would be used to create the Governor's Research and Innovation Initiative.

He said this initiative would provide funding for major projects that will grow California's economic strength in key innovation sectors, including cleantech, biotech and nanotech.

The proposal also reaffirmed California's position as a world leader in advanced research and innovation that creates jobs while preserving the environment, the governor said in a statement e-mailed to Xinhua.

"With some of the world's finest universities and research institutions, the Golden State has more scientists, engineers and researchers and invests more on research and development than any other state," said Schwarzenegger.

"As a leader in developing new technologies, California will reap tremendous rewards for our economy and environment from this investment in our innovation infrastructure," he added.

As a part of his proposed budget that will be unveiled in January, the major components of the Governor's Research and Innovation Initiative include:

-- Funds for the Helios Project, a groundbreaking initiative by the University of California's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to create sustainable, carbon-neutral sources of energy. The Helios Project will produce the next generation of super-efficient solar energy technology that will help reduce greenhouse gases and the state's oil dependency;

-- Lease revenue bonds to the University of California (UC) for UC Berkeley or UC San Diego in the event that either wins a global competition for the British Petroleum (BP) Energy Biosciences Institute grant. They were among only five universities in the world that were invited to compete for this 500-million-dollar grant to build and operate an Energy Biosciences Institute, which will be dedicated to long-term research into the production of alternative fuels. The Institute will focus on converting biomass materials into fuels, converting fossil fuels to energy with less environmental damage and maximizing oil extraction from existing wells in environmentally sensitive ways;

-- Assistance to the California Institutes for Science and Innovation (CISI) to develop information technology, biomedical research and nanotechnology; and

-- State matching funds to enhance the University of California's bid to build a 200-million-dollar Petascale computer, which will be the most powerful computer in the world. It will provide an enormous competitive advantage to California businesses and universities, helping to attract the best students and faculty from around the world.

California, home to 20 percent of the technology jobs in the country, is beginning to create new industries of solar power, bio-fuels, broadband, and nanotechnology throughout the state.

Source: Xinhua