The mayor has set the goal of drawing 20 percent of the city's electrical power from renewable energy by 2010.

UCLA Chancellor Gene Block said the partnership would ensure that the region "asserts its place as a hub in the emerging new clean-technology business."

Most recently, the mayor's office has been working with the Community Redevelopment Agency to transform a four-mile (6.4-kilometer) industrial stretch -- along the Los Angeles River east of downtown -- into an incubator for clean-technology companies.

UCLA officials said they hope to test small-scale wind turbines at the site. USC officials are drawing up plans for a research center to study how to make data centers more energy efficient, according to the paper.

Officials said the partnership stemmed from the city's intent to compete for a possible California climate change institute. A version of the climate change center proposal was approved by the state Legislature last year but vetoed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who said the legislation was "too limiting and too premature."

State Senator Alex Padilla reintroduced a proposal for the center in February. No decisions have been made about the process for locating the center, but it is clear that competition with other cities will be fierce if the proposal advances, the paper said.

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Editor:Yang Jie