This document discusses what makes energy investing and entrepreneurship uniquely challenging compared to other sectors. It argues that energy entrepreneurs require a broader set of skills than entrepreneurs in other fields, including multi-disciplinary scientific and technical knowledge, the ability to manage long timelines, deal with large financial requirements, navigate public and political issues, and effectively partner with existing energy infrastructure monopolies that control distribution. While renewable energy has received significant investment, the author argues more focus should also be placed on innovations that improve hydrocarbon extraction and use given hydrocarbons will continue to dominate energy supply for decades. The challenges of energy entrepreneurship have been underestimated and present barriers to developing the energy sector.
Russ Choma presents at the Reynolds Center's Washington, D.C. workshop, "What's Next for the Economy in Your Town." For more information, please visit http://businessjournalism.org.
Il World Energy Focus, nuovo mensile online della WEC's community, una e-publication gratuita per essere sempre aggiornato sugli sviluppi del settore energetico. Il World Energy Focus contiene news, interviste esclusive e uno spazio dedicato agli eventi promossi dai singoli Comitati Nazionali.
The Innovation Issue. Electricity: The Greatest Innovation of All Time
FEATURES:
-APPA's DEED program brings new ideas to scale
-The Instant Gratification Grid: Today's electricity customers want more and they want it now. Utilities in all sectors are prioritizing new, smart technologies.
-Smart Utilities, Smart Cities
-Career Day
Presented by Stephan Dolezalek of VantagePoint Venture Partners, April 8, 2010 at the Spring 2010 Energy Management and Innovation Center, McCombs School of Business, The University of Texas at Austin
Russ Choma presents at the Reynolds Center's Washington, D.C. workshop, "What's Next for the Economy in Your Town." For more information, please visit http://businessjournalism.org.
Il World Energy Focus, nuovo mensile online della WEC's community, una e-publication gratuita per essere sempre aggiornato sugli sviluppi del settore energetico. Il World Energy Focus contiene news, interviste esclusive e uno spazio dedicato agli eventi promossi dai singoli Comitati Nazionali.
The Innovation Issue. Electricity: The Greatest Innovation of All Time
FEATURES:
-APPA's DEED program brings new ideas to scale
-The Instant Gratification Grid: Today's electricity customers want more and they want it now. Utilities in all sectors are prioritizing new, smart technologies.
-Smart Utilities, Smart Cities
-Career Day
Presented by Stephan Dolezalek of VantagePoint Venture Partners, April 8, 2010 at the Spring 2010 Energy Management and Innovation Center, McCombs School of Business, The University of Texas at Austin
Face to face case for faster modular approach to energy investmentsNalin Srivastava
How can utilty companies manage financial risks in the energy sector? What could be the impact of distributed centres of energy generation on utility companies business' model? What mechanisms can lead to societal and market driven solutions to promote energy efficiency? How the design philosophy--to take nothing, waste nothing, do no harm--can create abundance by design?
This billing booklet looks at changes to flexible working, and how you can adopt to ensure your business benefits from new employment trends. In this issue you can also learn about networking, and how the npower Energy Services connections team works with new wind farms.
Futurist.com Think Tank for ASFE - The Best People on EarthGlen Hiemstra
Collection of slides used in Long-Range planning think tank conducted by Glen Hiemstra of Futurist.com over two days in July 2008 for ASFE, an association of geotechnical engineering firms.
Does The PTC Make Sense (Professional Version)?John Droz
An analysis of the US Federal Production Tax Credit's merits. This is the more detailed professional version intended for people with energy experience. There is also an abbreviated Executive version on Slideshare for those just looking for highlights.
Russ Choma presents "Covering the Green Economy - Follow the Green Money," a Webinar geared toward business journalists.
The Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism provides free tools and training for business journalists throughout the year. For more information, please visit businessjournalism.org.
Zinc8 Energy Solutions: Getting de-risked and raised by a global network of c...Stephan Bogner
When some of the world´s brightest people and biggest companies unite, there must be an urgency to solve a bigger problem. In order to build a smarter, more sustainable future for the planet, a far-reaching multidisciplinary effort is needed to speed up the rate of greentech innovation together – and to finance the economies of the future.
Right now, there is an innovation-based industrial revolution going on to re-shape our world for the better.
Unfortunately, it´s happening too slow. Innovations and new technologies take too long to enter the market and to then scale in a meaningful way. Capital, capabilities (know-how) and connections are the greatest limiting factors.
General Electric GE - Analyzing Business Markets - Presentation by Ishan Darw...Ishan Darwhekar
This Ignite presentation thoroughly analyzes the Marketing strategies employed by General Electric GE in its strategic move from B2C and B2B to only B2B company. The innovations in technology and marketing by GE are a benchmark for other industries. GE is truly a pioneer in the field of engineering and is the "World's most respected companies".
Does the PTC Make Sense (Executive Version)?John Droz
Does the wind energy Production Tax Credit (PTC) make sense? Is support for renewable electrical energies based on science or lobbyists influence? This is a very abbreviated version of the Professional Version slideshow which explains the Big Picture.
This white paper highlights current strategy, organization and leadership challenges for the Solar and Cleantech industries. It is based on conversations with industry leaders mostly in San Francisco Bay Area. The study was conceived and conducted by Mariposa Leadership, Inc and Emergent Solutions Inc. Conversations were held in the winter and Spring of 2009.
Aaron Davis - Schneider Electric - Presentation for young leadersMichal Wojcik
Presentation of Aaron Davis - Chief Marketing Officer, Member of the Executive Committee , Schneider Electric to young leaders from 42 countries during the 6th Economic Forum of Young Leaders.
Electrical Vehicles (EV)| All you need to know| January 2021paul young cpa, cga
Lithium
Global lithium supply and demand at the end of last year was nearly even, according to data from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. By 2025, though, demand is expected to outstrip supply by nearly 228,000 tons.
Prices have started to inch higher, especially in China, the world’s largest EV market, but must rise at least 10% more to make any expansions worthwhile, Norris said.
https://www.mining.com/web/weak-lithium-prices-could-slow-ev-revolution-albemarle/
Battery range
More and more concept cars are being developed as part of looking at ways to expand the battery distance for passenger vehicles.
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/g29994375/future-electric-cars-trucks/ or https://www.canadadrives.ca/blog/car-guide/cheapest-electric-cars-in-canada
Plugin stations
More expansion of plug-in stations is required to support electrical vehicles - https://techcrunch.com/2021/01/22/evgo-to-go-public-via-spac-in-bid-to-power-ev-charging-expansion/
Global Emissions - https://ihsmarkit.com/research-analysis/china-fueling-rebound-in-global-carbon-emissions-in-2021.html
Veredus Energy, Manufacturing and Infrastructure. UK Energy conference 2014Marghaid Howie
Our clients trust us to deliver on one of their most important
investment decisions - their leadership.
Our industry knowledge, functional expertise and
extensive networks ensure that our clients can trust us
to deliver on one of their most important investment
decisions – their leadership, both on a permanent and
interim basis.
Face to face case for faster modular approach to energy investmentsNalin Srivastava
How can utilty companies manage financial risks in the energy sector? What could be the impact of distributed centres of energy generation on utility companies business' model? What mechanisms can lead to societal and market driven solutions to promote energy efficiency? How the design philosophy--to take nothing, waste nothing, do no harm--can create abundance by design?
This billing booklet looks at changes to flexible working, and how you can adopt to ensure your business benefits from new employment trends. In this issue you can also learn about networking, and how the npower Energy Services connections team works with new wind farms.
Futurist.com Think Tank for ASFE - The Best People on EarthGlen Hiemstra
Collection of slides used in Long-Range planning think tank conducted by Glen Hiemstra of Futurist.com over two days in July 2008 for ASFE, an association of geotechnical engineering firms.
Does The PTC Make Sense (Professional Version)?John Droz
An analysis of the US Federal Production Tax Credit's merits. This is the more detailed professional version intended for people with energy experience. There is also an abbreviated Executive version on Slideshare for those just looking for highlights.
Russ Choma presents "Covering the Green Economy - Follow the Green Money," a Webinar geared toward business journalists.
The Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism provides free tools and training for business journalists throughout the year. For more information, please visit businessjournalism.org.
Zinc8 Energy Solutions: Getting de-risked and raised by a global network of c...Stephan Bogner
When some of the world´s brightest people and biggest companies unite, there must be an urgency to solve a bigger problem. In order to build a smarter, more sustainable future for the planet, a far-reaching multidisciplinary effort is needed to speed up the rate of greentech innovation together – and to finance the economies of the future.
Right now, there is an innovation-based industrial revolution going on to re-shape our world for the better.
Unfortunately, it´s happening too slow. Innovations and new technologies take too long to enter the market and to then scale in a meaningful way. Capital, capabilities (know-how) and connections are the greatest limiting factors.
General Electric GE - Analyzing Business Markets - Presentation by Ishan Darw...Ishan Darwhekar
This Ignite presentation thoroughly analyzes the Marketing strategies employed by General Electric GE in its strategic move from B2C and B2B to only B2B company. The innovations in technology and marketing by GE are a benchmark for other industries. GE is truly a pioneer in the field of engineering and is the "World's most respected companies".
Does the PTC Make Sense (Executive Version)?John Droz
Does the wind energy Production Tax Credit (PTC) make sense? Is support for renewable electrical energies based on science or lobbyists influence? This is a very abbreviated version of the Professional Version slideshow which explains the Big Picture.
This white paper highlights current strategy, organization and leadership challenges for the Solar and Cleantech industries. It is based on conversations with industry leaders mostly in San Francisco Bay Area. The study was conceived and conducted by Mariposa Leadership, Inc and Emergent Solutions Inc. Conversations were held in the winter and Spring of 2009.
Aaron Davis - Schneider Electric - Presentation for young leadersMichal Wojcik
Presentation of Aaron Davis - Chief Marketing Officer, Member of the Executive Committee , Schneider Electric to young leaders from 42 countries during the 6th Economic Forum of Young Leaders.
Electrical Vehicles (EV)| All you need to know| January 2021paul young cpa, cga
Lithium
Global lithium supply and demand at the end of last year was nearly even, according to data from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. By 2025, though, demand is expected to outstrip supply by nearly 228,000 tons.
Prices have started to inch higher, especially in China, the world’s largest EV market, but must rise at least 10% more to make any expansions worthwhile, Norris said.
https://www.mining.com/web/weak-lithium-prices-could-slow-ev-revolution-albemarle/
Battery range
More and more concept cars are being developed as part of looking at ways to expand the battery distance for passenger vehicles.
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/g29994375/future-electric-cars-trucks/ or https://www.canadadrives.ca/blog/car-guide/cheapest-electric-cars-in-canada
Plugin stations
More expansion of plug-in stations is required to support electrical vehicles - https://techcrunch.com/2021/01/22/evgo-to-go-public-via-spac-in-bid-to-power-ev-charging-expansion/
Global Emissions - https://ihsmarkit.com/research-analysis/china-fueling-rebound-in-global-carbon-emissions-in-2021.html
Veredus Energy, Manufacturing and Infrastructure. UK Energy conference 2014Marghaid Howie
Our clients trust us to deliver on one of their most important
investment decisions - their leadership.
Our industry knowledge, functional expertise and
extensive networks ensure that our clients can trust us
to deliver on one of their most important investment
decisions – their leadership, both on a permanent and
interim basis.
Le coaching a envahi nos vies... et nos écrans ! Les marques prodiguent de plus en plus de conseils de vie et partageant avec leurs consommateurs toujours plus d'objectifs à atteindre. En réinventant les liens disponibles entre les marques et les consommateurs, en offrant de nouveaux outils de suivis, d'analyse ou de conseil, le digital permet à la marque-coach de s'affirmer et de seconder plus que jamais leurs consommateurs.
Cette année chez Dagobert, nous fêtons le 10 sous toutes ses formes. Le pôle mobilité nous propose une projection en 2020 et nous immerge à travers des scènes de la vie quotidienne, dans un monde d'hyper interactivité, où tout ou presque... communique avec notre mobile.
Le Parcours Digital Gagnant en Point de VenteDagobert
L'écran a enrichi le point de vente, l'expérience digitale va le révolutionner !
Le 30 septembre 2010 se tenait un petit déjeuner débat Dagobert sur le thème du " Parcours Digital Gagnant en Point de Vente ». Ce document est un résumé succinct de la présentation. Contactez-nous pour une présentation dans sa version complète.
Tablettes : les usages outstore et instore pour les marquesDagobert
La tablette, un nouveau point de contact en magasin….mais aussi un moyen d’atteindre le consommateur dans son quotidien.
Dagobert vous livre quelques pistes pour tirer profit des avantages de la tablette et ainsi démocratiser l’écran interactif en point de vente ainsi que 6 moyens d’accompagner le consommateur tout en mobilité, jour après jour.
Zoom sur ces nouveaux internautes qui, lassés ou drogués du web, opèrent une déconnexion volontaire dans le but de mieux se reconnecter. Pourquoi cette tendance témoigne d’un désamour du web chez certains internautes et quels enseignements les marques doivent-elles tirer de ce signal faible ?
Ten Energy System Dynamics and the Implications for Communications part 3 -...Burson-Marsteller China
Burson-Marsteller's China Chaired Global Energy Practice's third installment in the series Ten Energy System Dynamics - And the Implications for Global Energy Company Communications
Green ICT: More Efficiently Unsustainable?Joss Winn
My slides for the Digital 2020 GreenICT mini-conference: http://www.digital2020.org.uk/skills/events/green
There are quite extensive notes which can be read from slide 21 onwards.
Solving indonesia's present and future energy needsAndre Susanto
Indonesia is an archipelago with over 17,000 islands. Almost 1000 of them are permanently inhabited and over 5000 more are inhabited for part of the year. A centralized grid with large power plants is costly, and logistically almost impossible.
Decentralized power generation and storage with microgrid infrastructures are what's needed to solve Indonesia's energy needs. Implemented and planned correctly, this will allow Indonesia to leapfrog the traditional power distribution and transmission method of electrification. Indonesia can be a leader in how to implement power plants that utilize and maximize the local renewable energy sources as part of its electrification strategy.
This presentation was the slides that I presented in Munich during the 2015 conference on decentralized solar PV systems in Indonesia. This event was sponsored and supported by the Renewable Energy Export Initiative under the German Federal Ministry of Economy and Energy.
Key Trends Shaping the Future of Infrastructure.pdfCheryl Hung
Keynote at DIGIT West Expo, Glasgow on 29 May 2024.
Cheryl Hung, ochery.com
Sr Director, Infrastructure Ecosystem, Arm.
The key trends across hardware, cloud and open-source; exploring how these areas are likely to mature and develop over the short and long-term, and then considering how organisations can position themselves to adapt and thrive.
Essentials of Automations: Optimizing FME Workflows with ParametersSafe Software
Are you looking to streamline your workflows and boost your projects’ efficiency? Do you find yourself searching for ways to add flexibility and control over your FME workflows? If so, you’re in the right place.
Join us for an insightful dive into the world of FME parameters, a critical element in optimizing workflow efficiency. This webinar marks the beginning of our three-part “Essentials of Automation” series. This first webinar is designed to equip you with the knowledge and skills to utilize parameters effectively: enhancing the flexibility, maintainability, and user control of your FME projects.
Here’s what you’ll gain:
- Essentials of FME Parameters: Understand the pivotal role of parameters, including Reader/Writer, Transformer, User, and FME Flow categories. Discover how they are the key to unlocking automation and optimization within your workflows.
- Practical Applications in FME Form: Delve into key user parameter types including choice, connections, and file URLs. Allow users to control how a workflow runs, making your workflows more reusable. Learn to import values and deliver the best user experience for your workflows while enhancing accuracy.
- Optimization Strategies in FME Flow: Explore the creation and strategic deployment of parameters in FME Flow, including the use of deployment and geometry parameters, to maximize workflow efficiency.
- Pro Tips for Success: Gain insights on parameterizing connections and leveraging new features like Conditional Visibility for clarity and simplicity.
We’ll wrap up with a glimpse into future webinars, followed by a Q&A session to address your specific questions surrounding this topic.
Don’t miss this opportunity to elevate your FME expertise and drive your projects to new heights of efficiency.
JMeter webinar - integration with InfluxDB and GrafanaRTTS
Watch this recorded webinar about real-time monitoring of application performance. See how to integrate Apache JMeter, the open-source leader in performance testing, with InfluxDB, the open-source time-series database, and Grafana, the open-source analytics and visualization application.
In this webinar, we will review the benefits of leveraging InfluxDB and Grafana when executing load tests and demonstrate how these tools are used to visualize performance metrics.
Length: 30 minutes
Session Overview
-------------------------------------------
During this webinar, we will cover the following topics while demonstrating the integrations of JMeter, InfluxDB and Grafana:
- What out-of-the-box solutions are available for real-time monitoring JMeter tests?
- What are the benefits of integrating InfluxDB and Grafana into the load testing stack?
- Which features are provided by Grafana?
- Demonstration of InfluxDB and Grafana using a practice web application
To view the webinar recording, go to:
https://www.rttsweb.com/jmeter-integration-webinar
The Art of the Pitch: WordPress Relationships and SalesLaura Byrne
Clients don’t know what they don’t know. What web solutions are right for them? How does WordPress come into the picture? How do you make sure you understand scope and timeline? What do you do if sometime changes?
All these questions and more will be explored as we talk about matching clients’ needs with what your agency offers without pulling teeth or pulling your hair out. Practical tips, and strategies for successful relationship building that leads to closing the deal.
Epistemic Interaction - tuning interfaces to provide information for AI supportAlan Dix
Paper presented at SYNERGY workshop at AVI 2024, Genoa, Italy. 3rd June 2024
https://alandix.com/academic/papers/synergy2024-epistemic/
As machine learning integrates deeper into human-computer interactions, the concept of epistemic interaction emerges, aiming to refine these interactions to enhance system adaptability. This approach encourages minor, intentional adjustments in user behaviour to enrich the data available for system learning. This paper introduces epistemic interaction within the context of human-system communication, illustrating how deliberate interaction design can improve system understanding and adaptation. Through concrete examples, we demonstrate the potential of epistemic interaction to significantly advance human-computer interaction by leveraging intuitive human communication strategies to inform system design and functionality, offering a novel pathway for enriching user-system engagements.
Smart TV Buyer Insights Survey 2024 by 91mobiles.pdf91mobiles
91mobiles recently conducted a Smart TV Buyer Insights Survey in which we asked over 3,000 respondents about the TV they own, aspects they look at on a new TV, and their TV buying preferences.
LF Energy Webinar: Electrical Grid Modelling and Simulation Through PowSyBl -...DanBrown980551
Do you want to learn how to model and simulate an electrical network from scratch in under an hour?
Then welcome to this PowSyBl workshop, hosted by Rte, the French Transmission System Operator (TSO)!
During the webinar, you will discover the PowSyBl ecosystem as well as handle and study an electrical network through an interactive Python notebook.
PowSyBl is an open source project hosted by LF Energy, which offers a comprehensive set of features for electrical grid modelling and simulation. Among other advanced features, PowSyBl provides:
- A fully editable and extendable library for grid component modelling;
- Visualization tools to display your network;
- Grid simulation tools, such as power flows, security analyses (with or without remedial actions) and sensitivity analyses;
The framework is mostly written in Java, with a Python binding so that Python developers can access PowSyBl functionalities as well.
What you will learn during the webinar:
- For beginners: discover PowSyBl's functionalities through a quick general presentation and the notebook, without needing any expert coding skills;
- For advanced developers: master the skills to efficiently apply PowSyBl functionalities to your real-world scenarios.
Slack (or Teams) Automation for Bonterra Impact Management (fka Social Soluti...Jeffrey Haguewood
Sidekick Solutions uses Bonterra Impact Management (fka Social Solutions Apricot) and automation solutions to integrate data for business workflows.
We believe integration and automation are essential to user experience and the promise of efficient work through technology. Automation is the critical ingredient to realizing that full vision. We develop integration products and services for Bonterra Case Management software to support the deployment of automations for a variety of use cases.
This video focuses on the notifications, alerts, and approval requests using Slack for Bonterra Impact Management. The solutions covered in this webinar can also be deployed for Microsoft Teams.
Interested in deploying notification automations for Bonterra Impact Management? Contact us at sales@sidekicksolutionsllc.com to discuss next steps.
PHP Frameworks: I want to break free (IPC Berlin 2024)Ralf Eggert
In this presentation, we examine the challenges and limitations of relying too heavily on PHP frameworks in web development. We discuss the history of PHP and its frameworks to understand how this dependence has evolved. The focus will be on providing concrete tips and strategies to reduce reliance on these frameworks, based on real-world examples and practical considerations. The goal is to equip developers with the skills and knowledge to create more flexible and future-proof web applications. We'll explore the importance of maintaining autonomy in a rapidly changing tech landscape and how to make informed decisions in PHP development.
This talk is aimed at encouraging a more independent approach to using PHP frameworks, moving towards a more flexible and future-proof approach to PHP development.
From Daily Decisions to Bottom Line: Connecting Product Work to Revenue by VP...
Whats wrong with energy investing
1. ENERGY, CLEANTECH, INVESTING
What’s Wrong with Energy Investing? Part I
BILL AULET 8/6/07
I just returned to Kendall Square after spending a spectacular weekend at Squam Lake in New
Hampshire and at the forefront of my mind—and what I could not shake over the weekend—is the
state of the development of the New England energy ecosystem. Granted, I have a personal
agenda, as in 30 days I commence teaching a new class at MIT called Energy Ventures. Still, it’s
an extremely relevant question for the local economy, and arguably the nation and the world.
Energy is, after all, the biggest industry on the planet and certainly faces the biggest challenges.
Therefore, it offers the biggest and most attractive opportunities for investors and others who
want to make a difference.
A lot of smart and well-intentioned people have made a lot of progress in recent years in
developing the regional energy ecosystem. But let’s not congratulate ourselves too fast. For every
EnerNoc success story, there has been a GreenFuel setback (hopefully temporary). Not that
such setbacks are necessarily a bad thing, especially if they cause us to reflect and learn how to
improve. So the question that we should seek to answer is “what is working and what is not
working in developing a New England-based energy ecosystem?” Or even more specifically,
“what’s wrong with energy investing?”
To answer this question, we might refer to the Beatles’ George Harrison, who sang in “Got My
Mind Set on You” that “it’s gonna take time, a whole lot of precious time…to do it right.” But the
time is precious indeed, and I think enough results are in to make two important points about
energy investing.
Majoring in Minors
While there clearly used to be a shortage of private equity capital for energy ventures (and rightly
2. so because of their highly cyclic nature), that problem has gone away. Money is now gushing in.
By my simple calculations, the amount of money available to energy ventures from dedicated
private-equity funds quadrupled from 2005 to 2006, soaring from approximately $5B to $20B. I
believe this is even understated. The point is that the money is flowing in at an amazing rate. But
where is it going? Energy as a sector is almost as non-specific as technology or transportation.
We have to peel back the label and take a closer look.
The lion’s share of the money that is dedicated to energy is earmarked for renewable or
alternative energy. Renewable or alternative energy is a fantastic thing and it is necessary, but
wholly insufficient, to deal with the energy problem. The biggest part of the energy riddle that
needs to be solved resides—and will continue to reside for the next 50 years—with the
hydrocarbon side. How do we find more to meet the booming demand? And, how do we find
ways, through technology, process, and/or business-model innovation, to reduce the
environmental impact of hydrocarbon usage? Renewables is a rounding error when compared to
the 80 to 90 percent of the demand that hydrocarbons (i.e., oil, gas, coal—ah!, there it is the four-
letter word of energy) fill and will continue to fill for the foreseeable future.
We should and must invest in renewables and alternative energy for the future and there will be
some big wins there relative to investing. But with all the new money and attention rushing into
this small part of the sector, we are majoring in minors. The major focus should be how do we
deal with the continued need for hydrocarbons and how do we make this cleaner energy. Just to
put this in perspective, the world would be dramatically better off from an energy-supply
standpoint if we could find a way to improve recovery rates at oil and gas wells by 1 percent than
if we built a million new wind turbines. If we could find a way to reduce CO2 emissions from
automobiles by 1 percent it would be, from a quantitative and practical point of view, thousands of
times more positively impactful than increasing solar energy production by a hundred times.
For the investor, this line of thought would seem to make sense as well. One of the top funds of
any kind in the U.S. last year was First Reserve Corporation, and while they do not release their
results, we know they did very well. One gauge is that they were the top fee producer on Wall
Street last year. They also just raised an additional $7.8 billion to continue to do what they do
best—investing in the basic energy industry with a focus on making the good old hydrocarbons
industry more effective and efficient. These days the herd mentality of private-equity investors, in
my humble opinion, has them putting too much money into renewable/alternative energies and
not enough into fixing the core business of energy, the hydrocarbons. There will be a correction
but until such time, I think this is a fundamental problem with overall energy investing.
Not Enough of the New Brand of Innovators/Entrepreneurs
The nature of the energy industry is far different from that seen in IT, healthcare, biotech,
telecommunication, or any other field and it requires a new brand of innovator/entrepreneur which
is in short supply relative to demand. The lessons from other industries do not translate effectively
in many cases. The scope, scale, time horizon, interdisciplinary skills required, and the question
of how independent a new venture can be from the existing infrastructure are problems that, in
combination, are unique to the energy industry. But more on that in the next post…
4. ENERGY, CLEANTECH, INVESTING
What’s Wrong With Energy Investing? Part II
Bill Aulet 10/15/07
I had the good fortune to receive a substantial amount of feedback on my first post on this subject
a few weeks ago. The feedback was productive and helped to clarify key points and in general
reinforced my conviction laid out in the Part I entry. In that article, I advanced the idea that while
“we should and must invest in renewables and alternative energy for the future,” to do so to the
exclusion of hydrocarbons means “we are majoring in minors.”
My point was simply that a more balanced approach to our energy investments should be
pursued that focuses as well on the hydrocarbon reality we face for the foreseeable future. While
we develop alternatives for the longer term, I argued, we must simultaneously invest in making
hydrocarbons a cleaner, more efficient form of energy—as well as energy efficiency initiatives.
“Just to put this in perspective,” I wrote, “…If we could find a way to reduce CO2 emissions from
automobiles by 1 percent it would be, from a quantitative and practical point of view, thousands of
times more positively impactful than increasing solar energy production by a hundred times.”
The post generated a lot of comments, but the numbers behind my argument are quite
compelling in the end, so I can’t say that my view has changed. My second installment on this
subject will be regarding a topic that is much harder to qualify. But I believe it is another
fundamental, yet often-overlooked factor that has to be dealt with more realistically if energy
investing is to succeed: our critical shortage of energy entrepreneurs. Clearly, money for energy
innovation is no longer an issue, but the entrepreneurs to effectively put that capital to work will
prove to be a system constraint.
People in many industries will whine and complain about how their industry is so unique and
more difficult than others, and so one has to sort through this groaning to find the truth. After
5. some close analysis, though, I have concluded that for energy, unfortunately, it is definitely true.
Energy entrepreneurship is much harder than entrepreneurship in other sectors, and I believe
most investors have yet to come to grips with this fact.
To explain my case, I will break the discussion down into some key points (which follow below).
These are general points about energy ventures and so may not apply specifically to individual
cases—but in aggregate I believe them to be true. They present a real challenge for the energy
sector today and into the near future.
All Entrepreneurs Are Not Alike, or Energy Entrepreneurs Are A Rare Breed Indeed
When new industries arise (e.g., computer hardware, software, telecom, internet, wireless,
medical, biotech), they have their own unique characteristics. Obviously, the technical talent
required differs greatly in these industries, but so do the entrepreneurial skills required.
Entrepreneurs are the change agents who commercialize the disruptive invention, and the
inventor (a technologist or some sort of visionary) needs them to create a meaningful new
venture. The entrepreneur is the great integrator and the propeller of the new venture.
An entrepreneur who is successful in software usually is particularly skilled at identifying market
opportunities and then executing a market-pull, customer-intimate, product strategy in a rapid
fashion—getting innovations to market quickly and then iterating to improve the products. These
skills are clearly transferable to Web 2.0 venture creation but are not as relevant, and, in fact,
may be counterproductive, in a biotech entrepreneurial venture. Biotech entrepreneurs need to
have a much more methodical approach over a longer period of time than Web entrepreneurs,
and they must possess a distinct ability to manage a company and a project through significant
regulatory obstacles. Similarly, as I will explain further, Energy Entrepreneurship is much different
than any brand of entrepreneurship we have seen to date. In fact, I would argue that being an
entrepreneur in the energy arena is unquestionably the hardest form of entrepreneurship by at
least one order of magnitude.
While it’s easy for me to say that energy entrepreneurship is harder than entrepreneurship in
other sectors, it’s a bit presumptuous of me to estimate how much tougher it is. I do so, however,
to make the point that there is a big gap between it and other fields that people are
underestimating right now. Let’s look at all the attributes or dimensions of expertise that an
Energy Entrepreneur needs:
1. Multi-dimensional knowledge of science and engineering disciplines. While the entrepreneur is
most often not the technologist or inventor, he (note: I use “he” and “his” in the gender neutral
sense) does need to understand the core scientific drivers of the market as well as the technology
or science drivers behind his various product offerings. For many new Energy Ventures that could
well mean possessing an understanding of aspects of chemistry, biology, engineering,
biotechnology, environmental science, computer science, and production systems, to name just a
few. Does that make energy entrepreneurship unique amongst technology sectors? To the
magnitude that such expertise is required, yes.
6. 2. Longer time frame. While there are exciting exceptions like EnerNOC (NASDAQ: ENOC), the
time frame required for an energy company to get traction is much longer than with companies in
most other sectors. Ann Winblad, the software venture capitalist, said at the recent MIT
Technology Review Emerging Technologies Conference that her companies took a long time to
bear fruit—an average of 6.2 years. While for Ann that may seem long, most energy companies,
even poster success stories like EverGreen Solar, can only dream of such short time horizons.
While the current enthusiasm for energy companies is compressing the time before they bear
fruit, the historical starting point (for good reasons) is significantly greater than 10 years. Indeed, if
the time required for energy companies to bear fruit could be reduced to an average of 10 years,
it would be a substantial improvement (Which raises a question as to how venture capitalists with
10-15-year funds can handle energy investing, but we must keep moving and stick to the main
topic…). The persistence and patience that Ann said is so difficult to find for typical software
startups is a fraction of what is required for energy companies. Biotech companies are similar in
this regard, but in general, energy is far outside the bounds of other sectors.
3. Bigger scope and scale from a financial standpoint. Just from a financial standpoint, a typical
energy new venture requires large amounts of capital. Investors have to make significant initial
bets and then be ready to follow them up with even bigger bets. While energy is not unique
(biotech, telecom, and now wireless—see Helio—come to mind as similar stories), it does add
another dimension of required sophistication.
4. Ability to deal with public perception and often-intense emotion. Energy is inextricably tied to
controversial natural resources, public safety, and environmental issues—not to mention
questions about economic impact. Part and parcel with this come public politics and emotion.
Some of it is clearly justified, and some of it is not. But, as ex-football coach Bill Parcells said, “it
is what it is,” and the energy entrepreneur needs to be adept at dealing with it. (See the
comments on my first post for evidence of this tendency.)
5. Adroitness in governmental affairs. Energy is not just emotional—it is politically charged with a
significant policy dimension. If one chases down the full value chain of energy-related products,
he or she will almost always find that they are directly affected by governmental actions. This
action can be regulation (such as utility rate setting in the U.S.), subsidies (e.g, U.S. or Brazil
ethanol production or Germany’s solar industry) or price setting (think OPEC). This is generally
something entrepreneurs (and venture capitalists) hate. It’s not unique to the energy sector: the
medical and biotech arenas have similar considerations. Strong capability and comfort in dealing
with government affairs relating to policy and economic issues is absolutely critical to the
successful energy entrepreneur.
Any one of these factors alone adds complexity to the already challenging task an entrepreneur
faces, but the challenge becomes particularly daunting when the compounding effect is
considered.
7. Numerous Routes for Attackers in Other Fields, Not in Energy
In addition to these traits, there is another important and challenging market condition that exists
in energy that is fundamentally different from other high tech industries today. It is the imperative
to effectively deal with (e.g., by partnering, collaborating, or at least neutralizing) the very people
you are trying to disrupt. To a much greater degree than in other sectors the existing hierarchy in
energy cannot be ignored.
Entrepreneurs thrive as “attackers” armed with disruptive technologies, business models, or other
ideas that they bring to bear against the “defenders”—specifically the entrenched, resource-
endowed hierarchy that is being threatened. Since the demise of IBM’s monopoly (Isn’t it hard to
fathom that less than 25 years ago the biggest concern IBM had was anti-trust suits because it
dominated the computer market so completely?), there have been multiple options for
technology-based entrepreneur-attackers to create new products and to get to market. There has
not been a dependence on a real or de facto monopoly on the defender side. It has been
relatively easy to bypass the defender completely, or use defenders against each other to get the
disruptive innovation to market.
For example, when Lotus came up with its breakthrough 1-2-3 spreadsheet, it did NOT have to
work with IBM to have it fit into IBM’s closed mainframe architecture. It could operate on the open
personal computer platform. Today, when Web 2.0 companies arise, there are no monopolies
controlling the infrastructure that they need to deliver their offerings to customers.
Contrast this to the entrepreneur who wants to harness wind energy in the Dakotas and finds that
there is no grid available to deliver the energy to the customer. To solve this problem would
require dealing with numerous de facto monopolies (including utility companies but also state,
local, and federal governments) that ultimately make the problem essentially intractable.
Energy entrepreneurs, especially those in energy production, don’t enjoy the luxury of having
numerous possible routes to market—because it is almost always the case (even though they try
to avoid it if they can and a few succeed) that they must deal with the existing hierarchy, which
controls the infrastructure.
This is a difficult challenge in general because existing successful hierarchies are very content in
homeostasis and resist significant changes (as Clayton Christensen details in The Innovator’s
Dilemma). In energy, it is even significantly more challenging because those controlling the
infrastructure are notoriously (and appropriately) conservative beyond what would be seen in
other industries. While renewable and energy efficiency entrepreneurs might complain about
utilities (sometimes with justification), they don’t have an option but to deal with them. Building a
parallel grid is not a viable option. They must find extremely creative ways of working with the
controllers of the infrastructure. Likewise, to be a player in the massive oil and gas industry,
entrepreneurs usually need to find a way to work with those who control that infrastructure. The
costs of the infrastructure are just so high in energy that having multiple options is much less
likely than in other industries. It is not simply a barrier that was created because someone “built a
8. brand”—there are huge costs required to build the infrastructure which cannot be overcome with
a marketing program.
In Summary, Thoughts and Action on the Solution
As Albert Einstein said, “seek simplicity and distrust it.” The model I am proposing is not relevant
for all energy startups, but it is for the majority of impactful new ventures that should and need to
be created. The energy entrepreneur has to be able to manage significant technical resources to
address the multidimensional science, engineering, and systems challenges which alone would
exceed the entrepreneurial requirements for any other industry. If that were all, it would be
enough—but it is not.
Like the most elite high-tech entrepreneurs, the Renaissance Energy Entrepreneur must have
these multi-disciplinary science and technology skills like an elite high-tech entrepreneur,
represented in the “Seed Innovators” circle in the model to the right. These include understanding
and building innovative business models to optimize monetization, as well as a keen awareness
of the standard successful new venture creation process. This must be managed over a long
period of time while simultaneously addressing the other two circles shown in the diagram—the
“Government” (policy and public relations) circle and the “Big Players” circle (representing the
need to diplomatically and effectively “massage the existing controllers of the infrastructure”). This
combination is what makes this an exponentially more difficult task. The Energy Entrepreneur
today who can do this is very rare indeed and in huge demand.
First, we need to openly recognize the challenge in front of us and not believe there are simple
solutions. I recently heard a very smart venture capitalist say that he plans to “take successful
entrepreneurs from other industries who want to give back now and put them in energy.” In
general, I find this approach sorely lacking. For a sports analogy (which is a bit of a stretch I
know, but it makes my point), transferring Michael Jordan’s extremely prodigious mental and
physical athletic talents from basketball to baseball didn’t really work—nor will it generally work in
energy entrepreneurship. The idea of transferring entrepreneurs from other industries and putting
them in energy may be our only option in the short term, but they risk getting whiplash as they
seek to master steep learning curves in multiple dimensions.