Hard to tell whether this is an admission of their own ineffectiveness or an act of good will toward the private sector, but the Energy Department is going to give a few renewable energy start-ups access to their really nice labs and match them with venture capital firms.

It's probably a combination of both, but it still sounds like a good idea to us. DOE officials said yesterday that they've chosen the three VC firms who will sponsor and choose participants in the new Entrepreneur in Residence program.

The program is aimed at accelerating the commercialization of technologies that help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Three DOE labs -- the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory -- will host one startup at a time and contribute up to $100,000 for research. The venture capital firms will match that figure and negotiate a license to use the technology.

"It's really a Silicon Valley idea - it's kind of alien to the federal government," said Andy Karsner, who heads the Energy Department's renewable power and efficiency programs.

According to DOE, the lucky entrepreneurs will conduct technology assessments, evaluate market opportunities and formulate preliminary business cases. No word on when the VC firms will select the first participants in the pilot program.