A Young Man in Australia Writes on Clean Energy
One of the most enjoyable aspects of my work week is helping in the education of young people. I love helping my own two kids with their homework, I serve as a tutor to students in the local community, and, through my role at 2GreenEnergy, it’s been my privilege to help countless youngsters all over the world, from 5th graders through college students, to write papers on clean energy specifically or sustainability more generally.
Here’s the result of an interview I did for Nicholas Quin of Australia a few weeks ago. Nicholas: I hope you get an A, my friend.
2GreenEnergy
2GreenEnergy.com is an organization based in Santa Ynez, California. They specialize in promoting innovative products and ideas to companies who are looking to invest in the renewable energy and cleantech market. 2GreenEnergy was founded by Craig Shields and his good friend George Alger over 3 years ago, with 65 years of business marketing/consulting between them, and Craig Shields’ strong background in physics. They boast that they know a strong and worthwhile renewable energy/cleantech idea or business venture when they see one. 2GreenEnergy offers marketing advice, contacts with investors and engineers to help develop projects further or to get them started. Craig Shields also has daily blogs and reports aimed at informing and educating the general public on a wide range of topics from electric cars to solar, wind, biomass, geothermal and hydrokinetic projects all over the world. Craig is very approachable and is always happy to give advice and answer any question you may have; he has also set a personal goal of writing a book a year, which is free to download as an ebook. In 2010 Craig released “Renewable Energy – Facts and Fantasies.” In 2012 he released “Is Renewable Energy Really Doable?” and due out in January 2013 his latest book titled “Renewable Energy – Following the Money.”
2GreenEnergy has been designed to make a difference in the renewable energy and cleantech industries by offering small business or individuals the opportunity to get their product/venture out into a market of “tough realities” as Shields puts it. He describes the challenges facing businesses migrating into the energy market, which is dominated by the fossil fuels industry, with clean energy ideas, as economic, political and real world technological. 2GreenEnergy provides two main services: 1) they are a clean energy knowledge search engine focused on bringing the public information on breakthroughs in renewable energy science and technology, breaking developments in clean energy business, alternative energy investing and perspectives on key political issues. 2) They support the clean energy industry with a team of experienced business consultants providing business services and facilitating investment in green energy companies through institutional investors, venture capitalists and hedge fund managers.
After rigorously searching for more information about 2GreenEnergy and finding very little I decided to try my luck at interviewing Craig Shields myself. So I emailed Craig with a few question, thinking I would be lucky to get a response and to my surprise I got a reply within 10 minutes. At first Craig was a little reluctant to give out any information and replied with “What’s the nature of your interest?” After informing him of my intent he kindly continued to reply with more and more information.
One of the questions I asked Craig was for information on his success stories and at first he replied “I’d rather not comment on my success to date. I have a few things to cheer about, but many things that haven’t moved forward despite my best efforts.” This really shows just how tough the migration of clean energy is in the, already fossil fuel dominated energy industry. “The fossil fuel industry is by far the most profitable in the history of mankind, and thus can afford the very best and loudest voices to protect its interests,” Craig Shields wrote in his post ‘Climate Change and Extreme Weather Events’ page1, October 30 2012.
I responded to Craig by letting him know that I was not after any financial reports on how successful his projects have been but how successful they have been in terms of successfully contributing to the migration of clean energy, in which I got a very interesting reply. Craig wrote “What you write here is very interesting. You’ve caught me equating success with financial gain, which is something I really don’t believe in.” “And the reminder that our work here has inspired an unknowable number positive effects on the world.” “I know, for example, that I’ve helped many home-owners opt for solar, local government people wrap their wits around the issues, and caused many thousands of people to raise their voices in favour or the themes of sustainability.” I thanked Craig for his time and left it at that; the next day I received an email again from Craig which was titled ‘Cleantech Investors Meet Entrepreneurs at 2GreenEnergy’ and he wrote “Hello Nicholas”, “We should look inward and think about the meaning of our life and its purposes, lest we do it in 20 or 30 years and it’s too late.” – Robert Coles. “As a professional, a husband, a father, and a citizen of the world, I think about this a great deal. In terms of the “citizen of the world” category, by the time I check out of here, I’m hoping to be able to say that I was quite effective at identifying really good concepts in cleantech, and moving them forward. That, of course, is the thinking behind this page of the 2GreenEnergy website. My job, and I take it seriously, is to reach out to the investment community, into which I’m manoeuvring myself further each day, and say: “Here’s the result of my efforts. Here are ideas that have huge potential implications, the science of which is not smoke and mirrors, the teams behind which have proven that they have what it takes to be successful. Do you need to do your own due diligence? Of course. Have I added value in vetting 1200+ business concepts over the last 3+ years? I’d like to think so.”
I didn’t receive any exact information on how successful in any one particular project was or is. Do I think 2Greenenergy is a successful organization? Yes I do, because to me anyone who is able to help 1200+ business projects over 3+ years in an industry full of ‘tough realities’, whether they turned out to be successful projects/ventures or not, 2GreenEnergy is a success at helping clean energy move forward and to start leading the way. As I mentioned to Craig, “To me, even your blogs are true successes as they are informative and educating.” In a way that is a great success story. As educating the public and society about clean energy and sustainability will only help to make its supporters and pioneers voices louder.
While talking to Craig I asked him what plans he has for 2GreenEnergy and where does he see them taking the organization in the next 5 years, to which he replied with “Thanks for the kind words, and the most provocative question. I’m sorry to say that I really can’t see anywhere near that far in advance. Having said that, here are what I consider to be a few of the most likely scenarios:
1) I’m successful in helping one of my clients get the funding they need to do a proper launch, and I wind up devoting a great deal of my time to them in terms of marketing and PR, as this really is my core competency as a business person.
2) My success in helping one of more of these clients raise money gives me the capital I need to elevate 2GreenEnergy into a much more visible platform that snowballs into a gigantic platform for taking more good ideas forward.
3) (About a thousand times less likely than #1 and #2) I get a call from someone in government, somewhere in the world, who honestly wants my help in solving a major piece of the world energy crisis. I take the bait and respond. I feel like a naïve child even suggesting the possibility, given the fact that world governments, at their core, do not want real solutions to their energy problems; they thrive because those problems exist. But I mention it anyway, as a distant possibility.
Again, thanks so much for causing me to chart my future. And best of luck to you in all your endeavours.” (Craig Shields, 2GreenEnergy). To me scenario 3 outlines an important political hurdle that is faced by not only the 2GreenEnergy team but the whole clean energy industry all over the world.
This brings me to another of the biggest challenges facing 2GreenEnergy in the clean energy sector is getting their voices heard through the screams of factual errors and disinformation that is being spread around with amazing speed and dexterity by the PR firms and lobbyists. These firms are hired by the oil/gas and coal companies which are some of the richest businesses in the world and can afford to throw millions of dollars into these smear campaigns in order to protect their own interests, which are not in the best interests of the environment, economy or society. In order to combat these companies Craig Shields and his team have to call on every resource available to them, by taking a pre-emptive and knowledgeable approach towards the migration of clean energy into the energy industry. They have achieved this by creating a strong network of relationships between them and some of the top scientists and engineers all over the world who specialize in the cleantech field of expertise. By finding investors who are willing to pour money into the advancement of clean energy, as Craig announced on the 27th of October 2012 in a post titled “Calling the Top 100 Financial Planners Regarding Clean Energy Investments: Complete, For Now” he states “Late this morning, I made my 100th call to the 100 top financial planners in the United States. Now I can say that at least one person in each of these organizations knows who 2GreenEnergy is, and the value proposition we represent to wealth management professionals whose clients have an appetite for clean energy, or cleantech more generally. The concept now is to stay in front of them, such that, when the timing’s right, I get a call with an immediate interest in making an investment. Even month, I’ll send them something: perhaps a free electronic copy of Renewable Energy — Facts and Fantasies, perhaps a write paper, or a report. “You have to give something to get something,” as we say in marketing.” (Craig Shields. 2GreenEnergy, page 1 2012.). Though they don’t stop there, the 2GreenEnergy team is constant reading, writing and re-educating to make sure they stay on top and up to date with the latest technologies and advancement of the cleantech industry. This allows them to hold informed and responsible discussions on this incredibly complex subject when dealing with clients or when posting educational information to the general public.
On an overall view of the 2GreenEnergy organization, do I believe that they are having a positive impact on the clean energy industry? Yes I do. I believe even if projects are slow-moving, in most cases, it is most certainly not through a lack of trying on 2GreenEnergy’s behalf. They are just a small organization who is trying to infiltrate an industry dominated by multi-billion dollar companies who have the money to buy their way out of anything. Yes I do believe that writing daily posts and blogs aimed at informing society with the correct information, facts and realities does have a positive impact. It has a positive impact by allowing individuals to shape their own opinions and speak out. If society is well informed and educated about clean energy and sustainable development then they are well equipped with the knowledge that we need to change, in order to give our planet half a chance at providing us and future generations with healthy, secure lifestyles. It won’t matter how much money the fossil fuel companies throw at lobbyists and PR firms to come up with smear campaigns to try and influence society through factual errors, disinformation and pseudoscience, because society has the knowledge and technology to stand up and say these companies are wrong. Renewable energy is the best way to be able to sustain our ever-growing consumption of energy without impacting on our environment as much and with organizations like 2GreenEnergy supporting it surely in the not too distant future we will see it being the main provider of energy all over the world.
By Nicholas Quin
2 of November 2012
References
Craig Shields 2GreenEnergy ‘Climate Change and Extreme Weather Events’ page 1, 30 October 2012
Craig Shields 2GreenEnergy ‘ Cleantech Investors Meet Entrepreneurs at 2GreenEnergy’ page 1, 26 October 2012
Craig Shields 2GreenEnergy ‘Calling the Top 100 Financial Planners Regarding Clean Energy Investment’ page1, 27 October 2012
Robert Coles
Craig Shields 2GreenEnergy ‘About Craig Shields’ 2GreenEnergy Website
2GreenEnergy website ‘Advocate’
