Cleantech

Power Market Transparency: Money Out of ‘Negawatts’

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Americans are accustomed to being told that they are running behind other countries, that other places are doing a better job of educating their young or building high-speed railroads or ensuring access to healthcare. Energy efficiency would seem to be the last area in which the US, with its famously well-lit and climate-controlled lifestyle, would be leading.

But in fact, demand response markets that allow customers and power providers to reap the benefits of “negawatts” (essentially un-used power they would traditionally demand or need to supply) are highly developed in the US, if admittedly still imperfectly understood and applied. The market for demand response, which is the activity that creates “negawatts,” has grown from essentially nothing a decade ago to a $3 billion market today, Joule Assets CEO Mike Gordon told Breaking Energy on the sidelines of the AGRION Energy & Sustainability Summit in New York City this month. Keep reading →

 /  Published February 26, 2013 at 8:00 AM

Energy Video: The Artificial Leaf

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Plants and trees have been making clean energy for billions of years using water and sunlight, so why can’t humans do the same? People have been asking this question for over 100 years and Giacomo Ciamician, an Italian scientist, has been dubbed the father of artificial photosynthesis for his research into what he called “the guarded secret of plants.”

Today, chemist and Harvard professor Daniel G. Nocera has taken up the mantle along with fellow scientists, graduate students and post-doctoral researchers. His work and grand vision has been captured in this brief video by filmmaking team Jared Scott and Kelly Nyks (PF Pictures), which recently won a $50,000 FOCUS FORWARD prize at the Sundance Film Festival. Keep reading →

 /  Published February 4, 2013 at 11:00 AM

Cleantech Innovation in New York City Gets a Boost

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In the popular imagination, New York City is dominated by finance, media and other professional jobs of the kind likely to feature in glossy television shows. But the steady departure of manufacturing jobs that once employed many of the city’s residents has been embraced by city leaders as a challenge they can meet by leveraging access to the centers of commerce, education and technology for which the city is famous.

New York has traditionally ceded energy and cleantech leadership to other places, notably Houston and San Francisco, but is increasingly building public support for clean energy companies and projects that can replace its traditional manufacturing base and diversify the city’s economy. Hard on the heels of Governor Cuomo’s announcement of a billion-dollar Green Bank to underpin infrastructure development, the New York City Economic Development Corporation says it will open a new NYC Clean Technology Entrepreneur Center. Keep reading →

 /  Published February 1, 2013 at 9:00 AM

Memo To DC: Think Long-Term On Clean Energy

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Memo To DC: Think Long-Term On Clean EnergIn his inaugural address, President Obama issued a ringing call for U.S. leadership on the development of sustainable energy technologies. Given Republican reluctance on the issue, what that will mean in practice is hard to say, but a leading nonpartisan research group has a message for the administration and Congress: Adopt long-term, consistent policies or lose out to the rest of the world.

“Although initiatives in recent years have helped to stimulate clean energy progress in the United States, the future of government policy is now uncertain and weighs heavily on U.S. industry and its competitive prospects,” the Pew Chartitable Trust says in its new study [PDF], “Innovate, Manufacture, Compete: A Clean Energy Action Plan.” Keep reading →

 /  Published January 25, 2013 at 2:00 PM

Cleantech Investing: 2013 Predictions

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Both venture dollars and deal counts were down in the first three quarters of 2012 (note: link opens pdf) and Q4 doesn’t feel poised to surprise on the upside. Even follow-on funding has been down, but mostly it’s the initial investments (Series A, etc) that have fallen by the wayside. This is driven by the significant withdrawal of generalists from the sector, and the reality that specialist VC firms are low on capital reserves. More on this below, but it doesn’t seem like LPs will suddenly start demanding VCs invest in cleantech or start making big commitments to the sector, at least in the next few months, and there’s a lag time between such shifts at the LP level and how deal volumes flow down through the GP level anyway.

 /  Published December 31, 2012 at 10:45 AM

Energy’s ‘A Team’ – Facing Down Sector Disruption in Austin

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The past few years have brought a series of disruptions that have thrown economic models for the energy business out the window and prompted widespread reevaluations of what matters most for one of the world’s largest business sectors.

Each year the US Association for Energy Economics gathers top analysts from across the sector for a conference that highlights the latest research that drives decision making and future planning for billions upon billions of dollars in investment. This year’s USAEE/IAEE North American Conference is the 31st such event, and is happening during the climax of a high-stakes election season that has brought both the job-making potential of energy investment to the fore and highlighted the problems that can result when forecasts go awry. Keep reading →

 /  Published October 31, 2012 at 4:00 PM

Government Subsidies are Scaring Away Capital from Green Deals, Investment Banker Says

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Global investment in sustainable and cleantech businesses has softened during the last couple of years, and there are multiple reasons for the trend. In the US, an investment banker says, one of the key reasons is that government subsidies are scaring away capital. But the banker has detected a growth area that could become a significant driver for clean-tech and sustainability deals.

Most of the major investment banks don’t have stand-alone sustainability practices. But there’s a fair number of middle-market banking firms focused on clean tech and sustainability. Keep reading →

 /  Published October 31, 2012 at 8:30 AM

Contributing to a Sustainable Energy Future: Future Cleantech Forum

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Many renewable energy technologies are technically mature and could contribute significantly to a sustainable energy future. And though deployment and investment in renewables remains high, much more could be achieved given the right frameworks and support.

We designed the Future Cleantech Forum for European professionals in the energy and Cleantech area who are interested in developing and implementing strategies for deploying renewable energies. Encompassing the wider scene, we look at the current patterns and trends in energy demand, at strategies to deploy renewable energies and at new emerging technologies across the spectrum. Keep reading →

 /  Published October 12, 2012 at 11:00 AM

Dissecting the Disconnect Between Cleantech Investors and Executives

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Soraa co-founder Steve DenBaars (2L), Calera CEO Brent Constantz (2R), and EcoMotors CEO Don Runkle (R) look on as former British Prime Minister Tony Blair (C) speaks during the Khosla Ventures Cleantech Discussion May 24, 2010 in Sausalito, California.

The cleantech market is a dynamic one, and market conditions affect available funds; a poor market inevitably affects business. Even though the second quarter of 2012 saw VC deals at their highest mark since 2001, green tech deal volume fell to a five-quarter low. Understanding this environment allows cleantech entrepreneurs to thoroughly prepare for investor pitches, acknowledge how their companies will address conditions, and forecast realistic revenues and market penetration. Keep reading →

 /  Published September 25, 2012 at 10:00 AM

Energy Venture Capital CEO Discusses M&A ‘Arms Race,’ and More

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Energy venture capital is a challenging business in the best of times, but greater competition from large non-traditional players and lingering economic weakness in many of the world’s largest economies mean that, more than ever, finding and doing successful deals requires a disciplined, yet open minded approach.

The entrance of large companies into the energy venture capital space, the US elections’ impact on investment cycles, identifying opportunities and dominant sector trends were just a few of the topics Breaking Energy recently discussed with Dr. Wal Van Lierop, CEO of Chrysalix Energy Venture Capital. Keep reading →

 /  Published September 18, 2012 at 11:30 AM
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