Monthly Archives: October 2011
Catalyst for Thought, Empowering Cleantech Entrepreneurs
| October 31, 2011 | Posted by Craig Shields under Renewables - Business |
In my quest to keep up with great thinking in terms of small business, I’m having lunch tomorrow with one of the top people at Catalyst for Thought, a group that seeks to “unlock the entrepreneur in each of us.” Here’s an organization that believes as I do, that all our actions, good or bad, have a terrific ripple-effect on others:
Society is positively impacted when individuals are empowered to identify and address their own problems, and create solutions. This process impacts society. That impact inspires others, and the process is repeated when you connect like-minded people. The possibilities are exponential!
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The Adoption of Electric Vehicles — More Than Meets the Eye
| October 29, 2011 | Posted by Craig Shields under Electric Vehicles |
John Petersen is one of the most thoughtful critics of the electric vehicle industry. In a phone conversation I had with him a few weeks ago, he laid out a few reasons why he thinks the whole idea needs to be scrapped. Here, in his column on AltEnergyStocks.com, he further defends his position, pointing out the folly of the plug-in hybrid Fisker Karma, and suggesting that those who invest in the glutted lithium-ion battery market are imbeciles.
Although there is a lot of truth here, as there is to everything John writes, I point out a few things: Read More
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Your Take On the Title for My New Book: RENEWABLE AND DOABLE
| October 29, 2011 | Posted by Craig Shields under Renewables - Business |
Thanks to all those who made suggestions for the title for my next book. There were several hundred, most of them fabulously creative, some deadpan, others hilarious. Tentatively, I’ve chosen:
RENEWABLE AND DOABLE
Our Transition to a Clean Energy Economy
that Won’t Cost Us the Earth
I like the concept for its clever rhyme, and also for its brave optimism, i.e., the suggestion that significant penetration of renewable energy and reduction in consumption of fossil fuels truly is an achievable goal. Fortunately, it jibes with the content of the book; in fact, there is a reasonable degree of hope to be found in various passages.
But having said that, the book is fundamentally an attempt to answer a single question: If this is such a critically important mission here on Earth, what are the forces that are making this transition so horribly difficult and slow? Read More
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Onsite Utility Services (OSUS) Replace Energy Service Companies (ESCOs)
| October 29, 2011 | Posted by Craig Shields under Renewables - Business |
Part of Eutricity’s unique approach is its implementation of high voltage (low current) DC (325V) for lighting and HVAC. This reduces customers’ expenses associated with AC-DC (power supplies for digital devices) and DC-AC (PV inverters). It also removes power factor losses.
Sounds like a light-bulb of an idea to me — an LED light, of course.
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Infographic – History of Renewable Energy InfoGraphic
| October 28, 2011 | Posted by Craig Shields under Renewables - Science |
We at 2GreenEnergy are on a quest to introduce the basic concepts of renewable energy to newcomers to the field, and, to that end, we’ve begun to create a series of “infographics,” providing a few essential concepts at a glance. Here’s a one-pager we did, depicting a brief history of each of five main types of clean energy. We’re hoping that this puts a few central concepts into perspective for folks.
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19 Solid Cleantech Opportunities
| October 27, 2011 | Posted by Craig Shields under Renewables - Business |
I’ve reviewed more than 700 cleantech business plans over the past 24 months, in a process that I describe in a two-minute-long video on the page linked below. The result? 19 opportunities that I consider to be excellent. Each has, at least by my way of looking at it, a solid team, proven technology, and a large, protectable target market.
Should investors jump right in because I happen to like the deal? Of course not. Is due diligence required? Absolutely. But if you’d like to know more about any of these opportunities, please let me know and I’ll arrange an introduction.
Here’s that video, as well as more information on each opportunity.
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EV World Editor Bill Moore Speaks with Craig Shields – Part Two
| October 27, 2011 | Posted by Craig Shields under Renewables - Business |
Here’s Part Two of the interview that EVWorld editor Bill Moore conducted with me shortly after Renewable Energy – Facts and Fantasies was published last year. In the course of the discussion, he asked me to provide my high-level impression of some of the main clean energy technologies: solar, wind, biomass, and hydro.
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Bellingham, WA Not Happy Being Waystation for Coal Bound for China
| October 26, 2011 | Posted by Craig Shields under Fossil Fuels |
Here’s an NPR spot on Bellingham, WA and their new rail terminal that will facilitate the shipment of enormous quantities of coal from Montana and Wyoming to China. Understandably, locals are not happy. Though some folks are salivating over the jobs that will be directly associated with building and operating the terminal, others fear a loss of tourism, as this historically pristine and eco-conscious spot loses its charm and becomes a temporary home to trains of coal cars, each one over a mile long, running 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Proponents assure community activists that all sorts of high technology will be deployed to minimize the coal dust that would otherwise coat the landscape and nearby Puget Sound. But most Bellinghamians aren’t thrilled to see their town become noisier, and associated with the dirtiest of all forms of energy.
It certainly does seem a shame that mankind can’t find a better way to conduct itself than mining coal out of the middle of the United States, shipping it by rail to Bellingham, and putting it on barges bound for China, where it will be burned in plants that belch forth their deadly fumes.
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Turimiquire Foundation — Focusing on Sustainability Since 1977
| October 25, 2011 | Posted by Craig Shields under Sustainability |
Please take a moment and consider the work of the Turimiquire Foundation, run by a dear friend, his brother, and a few others in a remote region of Northeastern Venezuela. You’ll travel a long way to find a group that, dollar-for-dollar, makes a bigger impact on our world. When Turimiquire first came to this rural valley in 1977, most young women were illiterate and began giving birth at the age of 14 or 15, bearing a new child every other year or so into their thirties. After decades of education and family planning, the entire demographic of the region has morphed into something far closer to sustainability.
Last year, Turimiquire’s first high school graduates succeeded in getting into community colleges in the nearby city of Cumaná, and several even made it into the State University. Now more students – especially the young women – want to attend one of the local community colleges where inscription is fairly open and low-cost…..
But there is little financial assistance available for even their modest needs. Turimiquire wants to support them in this brave new venture as well. Please reconsider adding this fine organization to your holiday gift list; I’m proud to have them on mine.
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Cleantech Start-ups Shouldn’t Put the Cart Before the Horse
| October 25, 2011 | Posted by Craig Shields under Renewables - Business |
By some strange coincidence, I have a couple of clients whose company’s purpose is “to be acquired.” While there is nothing wrong with that per se, I suggest that it’s rather like putting the cart before the horse. I recommend getting the company into a position where it’s of great value, and that means filling a previous unmet market need.
Make yourself a pain in the neck to competitors in your space by eating into their market share. Or, better yet, dominate a new market category. If you can do that, the exit strategy takes care of itself.
