A new grant program aimed at assisting Central Florida-based technology companies is now available. IDEA Fund Partners, a North Carolina-based venture capital firm, is offering the FL IDEA program in partnership with the Community Foundation of Central Florida, Rollins Crummer School of Business, Orlando, Inc., and the Metro Orlando EDC.

Based on the already successful NC IDEA program which has awarded over $2.1 million in grants to 57 companies in North Carolina, the Florida IDEA grants program awards up to $50,000 per recipient. The funds help to support business plan research and development, reduce risk of early failure of companies and advance projects to the point where the company is ready for angel or venture capital investment. In addition to the funds, recipients will also receive mentoring from successful entrepreneurs and experienced investors; use of MBA interns; access to attorneys, accountants and marketing consultants; public recognition and access to growth capital.

Applications are currently being accepted. The deadline for applying is Friday, August 26. For more information about Florida IDEA grant, visit www.floridaidea.org or contact grants@floridaidea.org.

With the new addition of IDEAS Insert Stage and recently opened Post Audio Mix Room, Orlando's film infrastructure is growing tremendously.

Already home to such assets as Universal Studios' soundstages and backlot, Full Sail University's newly expanded backlot, House of Moves motion capture studio, film, television and commercial crews in Central Florida have plenty of resources at their disposal.

The region is even more attractive as a destination for production because of the state's film and entertainment incentive program. The entertainment incentives, in addition to Orlando's quality crews, production facilities, and diverse landscape, make Central Florida a competitive location for the film and entertainment industry.

Metro Orlando welcomed a delegation from Jiaxing, China on Thursday. The group of government officials traveled from this medium-sized city in southeast China to explore possibilities for bilateral cooperation in investment, trade, R&D, education, and infrastructure development between Jiaxing and Orlando.

EDC president and CEO, Rick Weddle, together with representatives from Enterprise Florida, met with the delegation in an executive session to provide an overview of economic development opportunities in the State of Florida and Metro Orlando. Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs kicked off the community program, officially welcoming the group to our region. Following Mayor Jacobs' remarks, members of the Chinese delegation presented to a group of over 100 local business people - highlighting opportunities in the medical device, aerospace, digital media and energy industries with Jiaxing.

The EDC worked closely with the World Affairs Council of Central Florida in the planning of this event. Other partners included Enterprise Florida, National Entrepreneur Center, Orlando, Inc., Florida-China Association, Manufacturers Association of Central Florida and VisitOrlando.

Only a few weeks after the official announcement that the SunRail commuter rail system was approved to move forward, construction has begun.

At a community celebration last week, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood kicked off construction of SunRail at the site of Florida Hospital's future station. Secretary LaHood, Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff and Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Ananth Prasad were in attendance to sign the Full Funding Grant Agreement.

Congressman John Mica, Congresswoman Corrine Brown, City of Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs and Florida Hospital President and COO Lars Houmann were also on hand to recognize the regional collaboration that made SunRail possible.

SunRail will open in two phases. The first phase, scheduled to open in 2014, will run 31 miles from DeBary to Sand Lake Road. The second phase, to open in 2016, will run from DeLand to Poinciana.

The EDC has been an active advocate for SunRail over the years, serving on the core strategy team along with numerous other community partners.

Orlando has received a great deal of praise nationwide lately. The region has been named a "top comeback city" and the city "leading Florida out of economic recession". Here are a few of the recent accolades Orlando has received:

Orlando is "leading Florida out of the economic recession" and "one of the fastest growing cities in the country" according to Reuters.

Kiplinger named Orlando as a top "comeback city". The article recognizes cities who are seeing an "upward bounce" in their economy.

Forbes named Orlando as one of the "best cities for minority entrepreneurs" and one of "the next big boom towns in the U.S."

Orlando was ranked the top U.S. large city for business friendliness by Foreign Direct Investment Magazine in the annual American Cities of the Future issue.

Author William J. Holstein named Orlando as one of nine communities in the U.S. that will bring about the next wave of economic growth, in his book The Next American Economy.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce recognized Florida last month as the top state in the nation for workforce training programs in its Enterprising States report.

For more Metro Orlando rankings, click here.

BlueChip Energy, LLC a fully-integrated solar energy provider for utility, commercial, and residential applications, recently received approval for rezoning of the 201 acres of land it purchased for the development of a 40 megawatt solar farm in Lake County. This facility will be the largest privately owned solar farm in the State of Florida and one of the largest in the United States.

The EDC facilitated a meeting with Blue Chip and Lake County to take advantage of their fast-track permitting. Dimitri Nikitin, president of BlueChip Energy said, "We were pleased with Lake County's fast-track permitting process. Lake County was diligent, thorough, and their review was comprehensive. We were able to move through their rezoning process in a couple of months as compared to a year as I have seen in other areas."

Power generated from the solar plant will displace over 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually and generate an estimated 64 million kilowatt hours per year - enough to fulfill the average annual electricity needs for approximately 8,000 typical Florida homes. The power produced will be sold to Progress Energy Florida under a Power Purchase Agreement.

Connections with the nation of Colombia grew stronger last week with two milestone events taking place. Avianca, the world's second oldest airline, initiated its inaugural service into Orlando International Airport from Bogatá, Colombia. This additional service brings to 5900 the total number of new weekly international seats into our market for the summer of 2011.

On the heels of Avianca's arrival, former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe Vélez travelled to Orlando to encourage increased trade between our markets. Following an official welcome to the community by EDC President and CEO Rick Weddle, the hugely popular former President, who was the first in his country's history to serve two terms, spoke at length to a group of over 100 local businesspeople about the economic development benefits of the pending free trade agreement between Colombia and the United States. The President was followed by Orlando Commissioner Tony Ortiz, who provided an overview of our market to the 45-plus Colombian businesspeople travelling with the president.

The EDC worked closely with event organizers - which included KEP Brokers, ESSE Consultores, MPC Financial Strategies, the Law Firm of Colombo, Hurd & Brandt, and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metro Orlando - in the planning of this event. The opening of direct flights on Avianca between Bogatá and Orlando, along with high level government and business interest in trade and joint ventures, bodes well for increased business ties between our markets.

Florida Lieutenant Governor Jennifer Carroll and Minister Gary Goodyear, Canada's Minister of State, Science and Technology, visited Central Florida last week as part of their ongoing exploration of how Florida and Canada can collaborate in the realms of science and technology. The Metro Orlando EDC partnered with the University of Central Florida to help answer that question.

The dignitaries were hosted for a tour of the Central Florida Research Park and introduced to a variety of military and economic development leaders who described the depth, strength and potential of this region's technology industry. Following the tour, Minister of State Goodyear indicated that he understood the potential of cross-border partnerships, noting, "Canada and Florida can create jobs and growth by working together to help researchers get their ideas out of the labs and into the marketplace."

Lieutenant Governor Carroll was also impressed. In her remarks she commented on Florida's future in these realms, saying: "Science and technology will be part of the new frontier of Florida's economy and the future of the Florida-Canada business partnership."

During her visit here, the Lieutenant Governor also met with members of Team Orlando and with leaders from private businesses in the defense industry.

Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs traveled to Puerto Rico recently with a delegation of 12 local executives. The goal of this mission, which was organized by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metro Orlando, was to promote business between our markets.

(Pictured left: Mayor Jacobs is joined by Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce President Raul Gayá for the ribbon cutting ceremony kicking off Puerto Rico Eje Empresarial Convención 2011.)

Through a seminar entitled "Doing Business in Orlando and Central Florida" the Mayor focused on our region's business-friendly environment and emerging opportunities for growing companies. She also met directly with executives of companies that expressed interest in marketing brands from the island in Central Florida.

The Mayor was officially welcomed to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico by Governor Luis Fortuño. She also participated in the opening of the Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce's annual conference - Puerto Rico Eje Empresarial Convención 2011.

"We are thrilled that SunRail has received its final approval from Governor Rick Scott," said Rick L. Weddle, President and CEO of the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission.

"Beyond the thousands of jobs and billions in economic impact this project will bring, it will also be a tremendous asset for the region in terms of economic development. When businesses are looking to expand or relocate, the number one thing they look for is highway accessibility and transportation issues. Having the SunRail system in place will allow Metro Orlando to more effectively compete for the jobs of tomorrow."