Renewable Energy – "Swing for the Fences"

I’m in the process of putting the finishing touches on our new report providing business tips to renewable energy companies, one of which I call “Swing for the Fences.”

I note that marginal improvements in functionality, efficiency, etc. are generally not worth forming businesses around — that if you’re going to enter this industry, do something transformative. Though this could be debated in certain industries, where, for instance, reformulations in women’s perfume or soft drinks have the potential to represent big deals. But in renewable energy, the magnitude of the game you’re playing is enormous. To put it in perspective, when the world comes up with a way to capture only 1/6000^th of the sun’s power, the energy game will have been won (by the good guys) — now and forever.

In the words of legendary venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, who, of course, knows more than a little about the cleantech sector, “Since one fails often, address markets that make it worthwhile when one does succeed.”