Matt Horton

Propel Fuels has named a new chief executive officer and moved its headquarters to Sacramento, a blow to Seattle's clean tech industry. The 5-year-old operator of biofuel stations in Washington and California has tapped venture capitalist Matt Horton as CEO, replacing founder Rob Elam who is continuing as president.

Elam -- who along with other employees has moved to California as part of the headquarters shift -- has been critical of Washington state's commitment to the clean tech industry. 

Horton is a venture capitalist with @Ventures, an investor in Propel. Six employees made the move, leaving four staffers in the Seattle office.

The official headquarters shift occurred late last month, though it slipped under my radar at that time.  The news was listed in the fourth paragraph of a press release about the company opening renewable fuel stations in California.

The company wrote:

"In order to help meet California’s growing demand for clean, renewable, low carbon fuels, Propel has recently moved their headquarters from Seattle to Sacramento, which will create dozens of headquarters jobs in California.  California’s greenhouse gas laws, alternative fuel programs, the Low Carbon Fuel Standard, and Governor Schwarzenegger’s environmental and economic leadership are the drivers that led Propel to California."

Ouch. Washington's legislators, venture capitalists and economists should be paying close attention to that statement. In that same release, Propel's plans to open renewable fuel stations throughout California (including five in Sacramento) was applauded by Governor Schwarzenegger.

“With transportation fuels making up 40 percent of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions, these alternative fueling stations are exactly what I envisioned when I called for California to establish the world’s first Low Carbon Fuel Standard,” Schwarzenegger said.