Put Craig Shields and His Associates to Work as Your Plug-In Marketing Department
My marketing associates and I are available to take on additional work for clients at this point. If you’re struggling to find a world-class source of talent in any of the following five arenas, please let me know and let’s talk about your particular situation.
• Strategic Business Planning. Over the years, I’ve learned a heck of a lot about the technology, the economics and the politics (at least in the U.S.) that affect each of the dozens of sub-industries underneath the cleantech umbrella. Often, this comes in handy in helping clients make top-level business decisions.
• Writing and Other Aspects of Content Creation. This can mean anything from ghost-writing a book to generating content for your blog, presentation materials, proposal templates, email marketing campaigns, newsletters, infographics, corporate website, Facebook page, Twitter feed, etc.
• Marketing Strategy, Branding, Positioning, and Research. This, of course, is my core strength as a businessman; it’s how I was successful in my “past life” with my clients that included IBM, H-P, Philips Electronics, FedEx, Sony, AT&T, 3M, Porsche, Penske Logistics, Deloitte Consulting, Unisys, ABB, 3Com, Oracle, Microsoft, Fujisi, Mitsubishi, etc.
• Establishment of Strategic Business Partners. Again, this is fairly broad, but it can include: the development of sales channels, technology licensees, beta-customers, contract manufacturers, OEMs, distributors, and rep organizations–as well as your relationship with regulatory and advisory bodies and industry luminaries.
• Demand Generation. Once the core message is in place and the sales channels are established, business success is a matter of getting your story in front of the right people.
I hope you’ll get in touch, and I look forward to the conversation.
If there is any company,and/or individual that would like to be a business partner in opening up a whole new market for renewable energy in South West Florida. Then I would like to be a part of that conversation. Contact Kobor51@aol.com. Thank you Frank
Hello Craig,
My company Penguin Energy Services LLC operates as an independent lighting consulting / turnkey lighting upgrade/retrofit company. We work hard to stay up to date on the constantly evolving lighting and energy efficiency product offerings, applications, and markets.
As an independent consultant, we don’t just sell you what we have to offer, we evaluate the existing lighting system to determine a custom solution that meets the lighting needs of the space and the budget requirements of the customer. We partner with utilities to offer rebate money to offset the cost of federally mandated improvements in lighting systems. New high efficiency lighting systems may reduce energy use due to lighting up to 80%. New lighting systems typically pay for themselves in 3 – 5 years with money saved on the electric bill.
We are currently building our brand and customer loyalty in a small regional market in Central Illinois serving small to medium sized businesses. I am always searching for opportunities to grow, partner, or joint venture with other companies to serve customers total facility operations, maintenance, and energy efficiency goals. Federal mandates are currently driving operation efficiency standards. Programs such as the Energy Star building rating systems are touted as the future of building operating efficiency. The goal is to have reliable building efficiency operating standards such that building owners, renters and leasers have a reliable measure of the cost to operate the building and can factor these costs into their decision making when choosing a facility.
These goals and standards are worth while and achievable.
Thanks for your column and insight. I strive to stay abreast of all the issues surrounding efficiency, business operating costs and the environment.
Chris
If there is any company, NGO or other organization, and/or individual that would like to be a business partner in bringing advanced alternative & renewable energy to North America and other continents I would like to engage them in a no obligation conversation. Please contact LBlevins@aaecorp.com – and thanks
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
— Margaret Mead
Let’s be clear, over the last half decade, the clean energy economy has emerged all around the world as a major new economic opportunity for investment, manufacturing, and for jobs and environmental protection. A new report, Global Clean Power: A $2.3 Trillion Opportunity, explores scenarios for the dynamic expansion of cleaner electricity generated by renewable resources over the next decade.
It’s a sizable pie;
The future trajectory of investments in clean power projects will most likely be determined by the strength of policies adopted by G-20 countries. If clean energy policies are strengthened significantly in the coming years, the report projects that $2.3 trillion will be invested in clean power assets over the next 10 years, offering both companies and countries opportunities to compete for investments, jobs and export markets. Under current policies investments might only reach $1.7 trillion over the next decade. In other words, stronger policies would leverage an additional $546 billion worth of worldwide investment.
“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”
– R. Buckmister Fuller
This is what I’m doing, however;
“There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things for the reformer has enemies in all who profit from the old order.”
–Niccolo Machiavelli, 1513
Dear Craig your recent post on ocean energy has me cautious about contacting you.
Please review the brief description on the Enable Impact website.
http://www.enableimpact.com/ventures/zships-international-ccc-community-contribution-company
We did have a brief conversation some years ago about an invention of mine.
If this is of interest I would be happy to provide our business plan for your review.
SIncerely Roy Wagner Director ZSHIPS International ccc roy@upgyres.org
Please see me email to you. That link doesn’t work, btw.
Dear Craig,
Sorry about that you may have to sign up for this website?
Look for the DEALS link on their homepage http://www.enableimpact.com/ we are on the first page.
You write: “ZSHIPS are Zero fossil fuel, Zero emissions, Zero fuel cost commercial vessels.
This is achieved through a combination of available renewable energy technologies and energy storage. Including Solar, Wind, Sail and Wave energy conversion backed up by a battery system to provide 100% of the energy for propulsion and auxiliary equipment.”
How does this work, exactly?
A brief answer is that due to space requirements wind and solar cannot provide the power required the addition of sails on suitable vessels will help.
We will rely on wave energy conversion to provide 100% of the power 80% of the time waves have a much higher energy density and less issues with intermittency.
Batteries can store surplus energy when available and can provide backup power when required. Our system is based on OWCs Oscillating water columns a proven wave energy conversion method unlike a fixed platform a ship can also move to where the available wave energy is higher.
Are you suggesting that the energy of the waves incident on the hulls of the boat is sufficient to propel it?
Ships have to absorb and move through the hydrodynamic forces why not convert some of that hydrokinetic energy into electricity.
Consider the effects of waves on the mass of the ship being alternately moved upwards from buoyant force and downwards by gravity.
Any casual observation of ships in the ocean will show these movements in 3 axis and 6 directions. We have designed a system that can convert both these movements and wave energy directly into electricity to propel the ship.
Well, first of all, any energy that you take from the forward motion of the ship will slow the ship down; of course understand that. So the energy has to come from the motion of waves that surround the ship. Off the top of my head, that doesn’t sound like it would be very much. Of course, I could be wrong. BTW, you could test this easily by building a small working model and dropping into the ocean; sounds like a fun project.
OWCs are a proven technology for converting wave energy some in the MW range we are way past the small models stage.
We are seeking funding for the conversion of an existing commercial ship.
Until this is done to validate our technology to the shipping industry the impact we can have on emissions will be limited.
I would think that validating it on a small scale would be an important step towards a full-scale prototype. You can also simulate this with software.
Those of you who’ve seen “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” will recognize this as a variation on “Are you suggesting that coconuts migrate?” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4_9kDO3q0w
Previously it has been proven that wave energy alone can propel a ship through the use of mechanical fins. Our approach is firmly based on the physics of the ideal gas laws.
There is no doubt that there is some energy from the waves that can be conferred to the boat. The question is how much. I’m reminded of these guys: http://www.wattshocks.com/ who want to take the energy from the vertical motion from your car and turn in into electrical energy. Again, this is 100% possible, as that energy is currently being dissipated as heat. But how hot do they get? Not very.
I should rephrase that as there is a two stage process in the conversion first into a potential energy compressed air which is then used to power the electrical generator.
Ships do not have any forward momentum unless they are propelled forwards.
Wave energy is misunderstood by many it is a trochoidal energy much like a sine-wave most of the energy is vertical up and down with much less horizontal movement than you would think. http://www.marine.tmd.go.th/marinemet_html/lect18.html
Only as the waves interact with the seabed near shore is the forward momentum increased.
As for available energy what is moving that ship weighing several hundred/thousands of tons up and down and side to side?
Well, again, I could be wrong about this. Do big ships bob up and down much? I would think that their momentum, which is proportionate to their mass, would prevent much of that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6MrafRopxk
Watched it; thanks.
It obviously depends on the sea state and how much wave energy is available.
Water is lazy it is much easier to compress air ( a Gas ) than lift up the ship or push the surrounding seawater out of the way, if the ship is also moved sufficiently this only adds to the energy available for conversion.
Well, I suppose I just have to say: “Build it and they will come,” (for those living outside the U.S.) a reference to an extremely popular and wonderful movie here. “Field of Dreams.”
Just because something has never been done before does not make it impossible, inconceivable or crazy. It just makes it harder to find an investor.
However I am confident we are worthy of any investors time and money.
I’m certainly not asserting that you or your idea is crazy, only that, if it were I, I would start by demonstrating the workability of the idea on a miniature scale or, better, software.
Dear Craig,
OWC’s are a proven concept on a floating platform deployed in the ocean by several companies. Also installed in breakwaters and shore based installations.
The oscillating chambers themselves have proven very efficient. (The power take off devices not so efficient as yet)
Several electric drive ships now exist, diesel electric hybrid ships are becoming the norm.
LNG electric will soon follow.
So full size OWC platforms already exist as do Electric Ship drive systems and control systems. As do ships due to be scrapped for economic or emissions reasons.
If you consider a ship a very large floating platform as I do, and you have a very efficient power take off device 70% plant and generator.
Why would I wish to go back to miniature models when these things already exist full size and all components equipment and materials are available off the shelf?
In the BP I sent you we explain how we will use computer modeling to perfect the design before we start construction.
We would do this for every vessel we retrofit or design from scratch it is only common sense these days to use CAE and CFD programs to achieve the best results.
Sounds cool. I wish you every bit of luck with your enterprise, and ask that you keep me posted.