Category: Renewables – Business
The Wisdom of Paul Hawken
| April 15, 2012 | Posted by Craig Shields under Renewables - Business |
Paul Hawken, certainly one of the most influential environmentalists of all time, tells his followers: “(Working on for the welfare of the world’s people) is not a way to get rich; it’s a way to be rich.” That certainly rings true here. I’m just beginning to scratch the surface in terms of making a difference, but I find it immensely rewarding to speak with people all over the globe on a daily basis, and help orient them in the right direction with their clean energy ideas.
Having said that, I believe that anyone associated with bringing real solutions to the energy scene will eventually be well rewarded, considering that the market is so large and so inevitable. At the end of the day, the world must adopt clean energy solutions; it has no other option.
Renewable Energy Faces an “Institutional Bias”
| April 14, 2012 | Posted by Craig Shields under Renewables - Business |
Patrick OLeary of Futura Solar writes:
Renewable energy faces an institutional bias. Upfront costs mean upfront tax payments. No stream of bills to pay means no stream of tax revenues to collect.
Also consider the impact of solar on peaking power electric rates. Without that spike of money, Electric Utilities go back to being sleepy industries, sans the corporate bonuses.
You make some excellent points here. The “institutional bias” is exactly what makes this so tough; outside of the health and safety of all living things now and in the future, there is little incentive to make a shift in our energy policy. (I know that sounds sarcastic, but I don’t mean it that way.)
Creating that incentive means making some extremely high-level changes in the way we buy and sell energy. And the big boys don’t want to see that (or any other) change, thus making this a bit difficult. Fortunately, it’s worth the struggle.
Btw, the ideas on your website look cool. Keep up the good work.
Is Renewable Energy Growing Stronger? It Depends on How You Look At It
| April 9, 2012 | Posted by Craig Shields under Renewables - Business |
EVWorld has a wonderfully encouraging article on renewables that begins:
Pop quiz time. The fastest growing energy sector in terms of percentage of growth in the United States between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2011 was: A) natural gas, B) nuclear power, C) renewable energy?
The answer is C, renewable energy (RE) by a huge margin. According to the U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA), RE grew by 27.12%. That includes biofuels, biomass, geothermal, solar, water, and wind. By comparison, natural gas production increased 13.66%, while crude oil grew 14.27%. Nuclear power, in contrast, shrunk 1.99% and coal dropped 7.16%.
All true, but one can find different facts that would support a different conclusion. E.g., under 5% of the U.S. grid mix is renewable energy (if you don’t count hydroelectric dams), so talking about percent growth of this small number may not be the most relevant stat.
Island Nations Are a Good Fit for Renewable Energy
| April 6, 2012 | Posted by Craig Shields under Renewables - Business |
Don Harmon of LiFeBatt, a long-time 2GreenEnergy reader, writes in about my recent video on clean energy:
Good interview. We are currently working on a project in the Caribbean Islands for solar and wind generation. The islands are a very ripe opportunity now for implementing green energy because they are mostly dependent on buying diesel fuel from Hugo Chavez in Venezuela and the cost is atrocious. So, may we see these islands go green way before the U.S. does? Since there is virtually no infrastructure, we have a blank slate to work with, and of course battery storage backup will be a key ingredient.
Thanks, Don. Yes, I think we’ll absolutely see this, for the reasons you name and more. Read More
Is Renewable Really Doable? – Kindle Version
| April 6, 2012 | Posted by Craig Shields under Renewables - Business |
I absentmindedly forgot to get a Kindle version made of Is Renewable Really Doable? until just now. Here it is, for anyone who wants it; I recall a few people asked me about it.
From Guest Blogger Kelly Marsh: Top 5 Advantages of Using Green Energy Products
| March 31, 2012 | Posted by Kelly Marsh under Renewables - Business |
Renewable energy is becoming a catch word. Green is becoming trendier color. Every odd product is claiming greenness and energy efficiency. Why should we care about green energies? How they make our life worth living? Is it just another marketing gimmickry or does it make sense in life?
No doubt, there are controversies. Few people despise green energy products. They claim such products are ineffective and nonviable. However, others praise and try to adore anything with even a faintest relation to green energies. We will see 5 undeniable advantages any green energy product can offer. Read More
CleanTech Forum: A Good Show Diminished By Terrible Manners
| March 29, 2012 | Posted by Craig Shields under Renewables - Business |
The CleanTech Forum in San Francisco this week exemplified a dilemma faced by many conference organizers. The folks who run this show want good content that will please the people who paid good money to fly here and attend. But the sponsors, who put up their own money, want to be part of that content; in particular, they want more than signage to make people aware of their generosity; they want the opportunity to speak to the audience.
That, in and of itself, is generally not a problem, since sponsors normally have the basic decency and self-restraint Read More
Jobs in Renewable Energy
| March 22, 2012 | Posted by Craig Shields under Renewables - Business |
At an ever-growing rate, I get calls and emails from people all over the world hoping that I can hook them up with clean energy jobs in the U.S. I wish I could help, but I can’t — at least, not at this point.
I’m hoping that this changes soon, but the U.S. is not embracing renewables to the degree I’d like to see. Did you know that there are more jobs in solar in Germany than there are jobs in steel in the U.S? I’m not proud of that, but it’s a fact. I believe that renewable energy will eventually win the day, but it doesn’t appear that the U.S. will be a leader in making this happen.
Plenty of Energy Conferences
| March 18, 2012 | Posted by Craig Shields under Renewables - Business |
I attend conferences, either as a speaker or a participant, when I can add them conveniently to my travel schedule. Here is my “bible” – ConferenceAlerts/Energy, which is, as far as I’m aware, the most comprehensive listing of energy conferences around the world. We’re more than halfway through March, and there are still well over 50 energy conferences scheduled, somewhere on the surface of the globe, between now and the first of April. This is an average of four per day; the 26th and 27th each have seven. Read More
