By Colleen Debaise

For start-ups that harness the energy of the sun, 2010 looks to be a promising year.

In The Wall Street Journal's first survey of venture-backed clean-technology companies, three solar-power firms came out on top: Solyndra Inc. of Fremont, Calif.; Suniva Inc. of Norcross, Ga.; and eSolar Inc. of Pasadena, Calif. The rankings, announced Thursday at the Journal's ECO:Nomics Executive Conference in Santa Barbara, Calif., seek to identify those green companies that have the capital, executive experience and investor know-how to succeed in an increasingly crowded field. (See the full list below.)

Other notables on the Top 10 Cleantech list include two eco-friendly car makers— Fisker Automotive Inc. of Irvine, Calif., and Tesla Motors Inc. of San Carlos, Calif.—and New York's RecycleBank LLC., which provides rewards programs to motivate people to recycle.

Several companies on the list have benefited from the Department of Energy's largesse. Last year, No. 1 Solyndra secured a $535 million government loan on top of $286 million it raised in venture financing. The company also saw its revenues jump to $58.8 million for the first nine months of 2009 compared with $6 million for all of 2008. Solyndra filed in late December for a public offering and declined to comment, citing a quiet period.

A team from research firm VentureSource (owned by NewsCorp., which also owns Dow Jones & Co., publisher of the Journal) calculated the rankings, applying a set of financial criteria to some 350 U.S.-based venture-backed businesses in clean technology.

Companies that make everything from fuel-cell technologies to carbon-management software were analyzed according to four financial criteria: the track records of success for both a company's founders and management, and for the investors on its board; the amount of capital raised in the last three years, and the percentage change in a company's valuation in the 12 months ended Nov. 30. Dow Jones reporters and editors who cover the venture capital industry also provided their perspective and expertise beyond the numbers.

In early March, the Journal will publish its first ranking of venture-funded companies. The Next Big Thing: Top 50 Venture-Backed Companies will indicate the odds of success for U.S.-based companies valued at less than $1 billion.

Watch elevator pitches from clean-tech firms in The WSJ's ranking of the hottest venture-funded enterprises, including John W. Baumstark, chairman and CEO of Suniva, Cree Edwards, chairman and CEO of eMeter and Ron Gonen, CEO of RecycleBank here.

1.  SOLYNDRA INC.
Headquarters: Fremont, Calif.
Description: Provider of a photovoltaic system featuring proprietary cylindrical modules.
Founder: Christian Gronet
Investors: Argonaut Private Equity, Artis Capital Management, CMEA Ventures, GKFF Investment Company LLC, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., Madrone Capital Partners, Masdar Clean Tech Fund, Redpoint Ventures, RockPort Capital Partners, U.S. Venture Partners, Undisclosed Venture Investor(s), US Department of Energy, Virgin Green Fund

2.  SUNIVA INC.
Headquarters: Norcross, Ga.
Description: Provider of solar cells and modules.
Founder: Ajeet Rohatgi
Investors: Advanced Equities, Apex Venture Partners, Cogentrix Energy,Goldman Sachs Group, H.I.G. Capital, New Enterprise Associates, Quercus Investments, TriplePoint Capital, Velocity Commercial Capital, Warburg Pincus

3.  eSOLAR INC.
Headquarters: Pasadena, Calif.
Description: Developer of modular solar power plants.
Founder: Bill Gross
Investors: ACME Group, Google, Idealab, Individual Investors,NRG Energy, Oak Investment Partners, Quercus Trust

4.  RECYCLEBANK LLC
Headquarters: New York
Description: Provider of incentive-based recycling services to communities.
Founder: Ron Gonen
Investors: Coca-cola Bottling Group, Generation Investment Management, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, RRE Ventures, Sigma Partners, Westly Group

5.  BOSTON-POWER INC.
Headquarters: Westborough, Mass.
Description: Provider of a portable lithium-ion battery technology platform.
Founder: Christina Lampe -Onnerud
Investors: Foundation Asset Management, Gabriel Venture Partners, GGV Capital, Oak Investment Partners, Venrock Associates

6.  FISKER AUTOMOTIVE INC.
Headquarters: Irvine, Calif.
Description: Developer of environmentally-friendly premium cars.
Founder: Henrik Fisker
Investors: Eco-Drive Capital Partners, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Palo Alto Investors, Qatar Investment Authority, Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies, US Department of Energy

7.  eMETER INC.
Headquarters: San Mateo, Calif.
Description: Provider of energy information management solutions for utility mass market and commercial and industrial deployment.
Founders: Cree Edwards and Larsh Johnson
Investors: DBL Investors, Foundation Capital, Individual Investors, Sequoia Capital,Siemens AG

8.  SERIOUS MATERIALS INC.
Headquarters: Sunnyvale, Calif.
Description: Provider of energy-efficient building materials.
Founder: Kevin Surace
Investors: Cheyenne Partners, EnerTech Capital, Foundation Capital, Mesirow Financial, Navitas Capital, New Enterprise Associates, Rustic Canyon Partners, Saints, Staenberg Venture Funds, VantagePoint Venture Partners

9.  SILVER SPRING NETWORKS INC.
Headquarters: Redwood City, Calif.
Description: Provider of networking infrastructure and services for the smart grid.
Founder: Scott Lang (founding CEO)
Investors: Beaver Creek Fund, Edison Electric Institute, Foundation Capital, Google Ventures, JVB Properties, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Northgate Capital Group, Seneca Capital Management, Undisclosed Venture Investor(s)

10.  TESLA MOTORS INC.
Headquarters: San Carlos, Calif.
Description: Provider of energy-efficient electric sports cars.
Founders: Martin Eberhard, Elon Musk, JB Straubel, Marc Tarpenning, and Ian Wright
Investors: Aabar Investments, Capricorn Management, Compass Technology Group,Daimler AG, DBL Investors, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Fjord Capital Partners, Individual Investors,JPMorgan Chase, Tao Group, Technology Partners, Undisclosed Venture Investor(s), US Department of Energy, Valor Equity Partners, VantagePoint Venture Partners, Westly Group.