To hear Greg Trimarche tell it, Orange County is missing out — big time.

“Orange County is not getting anywhere close to their share of stimulus dollars,” Trimarche said. “We’re getting about 30 percent of the national average.”

This week, Trimarche, a partner at the Bryan Cave law offices in Irvine, did something about it. With Brandman University, Trimarche launched CleanTech OC, a new trade group dedicated to getting Orange County’s share of billions in federal stimulus dollars for clean-energy projects that remain unclaimed.

“If we do our job right, we should be bringing millions of dollars of clean technology grant money into Orange County,” he said.

The new trade group will try to corral as many of the roughly 300 Orange County clean-tech businesses as possible: those involved in renewable energy generation such as wind and solar, companies that make energy use more efficient with lighting or power transmission, and those that promote use of alternative fuels such as makers of electric, hybrid or natural gas cars, as well as green building and green chemistry companies.

The trade group also hopes to attract public entities, such as local city governments, and academic institutions such as UC Irvine.

The group is similar to other CleanTech associations in places like San Diego and Los Angeles, but is not affiliated with them. The board, co-chaired by Trimarche and Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido, held its first meeting Wednesday.

Trimarche says Orange County is losing out on potentially big opportunities.

“The California Energy Commission just awarded $110 million in grants,” he said. “Orange County didn’t get a dime of it.”

The only Orange County public entity to get clean-energy stimulus dollars so far, he said, is Anaheim Public Utilities.

The trade group, headquartered at Brandman University in Irvine, already has “a handful” of founding sponsors, including KPMG, an international accounting firm, a venture capital firm called SAIL Venture Partners,  and Roth Capital Partners, an investment banking firm.

Much of the group’s efforts will be directed toward lobbying for stimulus funds in Washington, D.C., and Sacramento, as well as helping its members negotiate the complex process of acquiring grants.

“The goal of the organization is to promote economic growth in the clean technology industry in Orange County,” Trimarche said.

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