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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

It’s common for me to hear people say things like, “Boy, you renewable energy people sure are taking it on the chin.” Of course, it’s true that the whole clean energy initiative is under attack from the traditional energy industry; the oil and coal folks are spending a fortune through their PR firms and lobbyists to discredit all alternatives, thus necessitating sites like EnergyFactCheck.org. 

But what amuses me about the quote above is the phrase “you renewable energy people.” I don’t feel that I’m part of a small group; I feel that I’m part of humanity, working hard to make sure that it’s still here in 50 – 100 years.

At the risk of sounding weird, whenever I hear “you renewable energy people” I automatically start mentally singing the old Beatles’ tune “I Am The Walrus” that begins…

I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

One of the perks of attending the Renewable Energy Finance Forum as a delegate from the media is access to the “press room,” which affords a place to write and conduct interviews. In addition, it’s the opportunity to meet really cool people, like Maria Gallucci, clean economy writer for Inside Climate News. She’s extremely pleasant and sharp as a tack; I invite readers to check out some of her material, linked above.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

I suppose I should have seen this coming, but the traditional energy industry, apparently starting to feel the heat, has recently ratcheted up the volume of its ongoing public relations efforts against the renewables industry.  I had a wonderful conversation yesterday at the Renewable Energy Finance Forum with American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) president US Navy Vice Admiral (ret.) Dennis McGinn on the subject of the new website EnergyFactCheck.org. “Had it not already been taken,” he quipped, “I would have called it ‘Myth-busters.’”  (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Uncategorized

Part of the joy of participating at the Renewable Energy Finance Forums is the diversity of people I get to know, each somehow connected to the business aspects of clean energy. I would suspect that each of the 500 – 600 people in attendance has his/her own concept of the market dynamics at play here – how it can be that a concept so desirable for so many reasons (peak oil, environmental issues, national security, job creation, etc.) could have become such a political football, one that has been so horribly fumbled over the past year or so.  

The effects of the possible (probable?) end of the PTC (production tax credit) for wind energy dominated the entire conversation for two consecutive days.  And what’s behind that?  Simple: Democrats favor it, and Republicans want to put a spear through it.  The result?  Chaos — which is good enough for those who want to see it killed.  Investors don’t like chaos.

In any case, I took the opportunity to pull my friend, stock market analyst Tom Konrad aside for a few moments and interview him for my next book: Renewable Energy – Following the Money. More on this soon.

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

2GreenEnergy supporter Dr. David Doty wrote to update me on his progress in raising the capital for his Windfuels project, and notes:

In the meantime, keep doing what you’re doing – trying to increase public awareness of the need to do much more to avert a climate disaster by mid-century, which at this point actually seems unavoidable for political reasons. See this article on “Dust-Bowlification,” as reported in Nature here:

Thanks for this.  I agree with your analysis of the short-term political and economic events that have conspired to make things tough.  But looking at this one way, it’s actually good news that Windfuels is still an open opportunity for an investor with vision.  Yes, I’ll continue to help tell your story, and raise awareness of the threat of climate change. It’s hard to believe that we live in a country in which this is necessary, but that seems to be the case.

I hope readers will check out the article that you’ve provided above.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Solar Thermal

I just met the CFO of SolarReserve, one of the top players in CSP (concentrated solar power, aka solar thermal).  This hasn’t been a good couple of years for CSP; it’s been a time in which the price of both natural gas and PV, both mature technologies, have  fallen precipitously, leaving CSP dangling, looking hard for the investment dollars necessary to perform the R&D and drive the scale necessary to compete.  CSP, however, has the virtue of supporting very inexpensive energy storage compared to PV and wind, thus providing dispatchability — both during short periods of peak demand and the hours after the sun goes down.

I hope we don’t let CSP languish into obscurity.  I remain bullish in the medium- and long-term; I believe I’ll live to see a day at which we’ve built out our grid and can transmit power over long distances; at that point, we’ll realize how strategic this technology can be.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

Wednesday morning as I was getting ready to conclude my participation in the Renewable Energy Finance Forum, I had a thought I wanted to share.  It had been two-days of nitty-gritty financial talk — extremely precise language of tax lawyers and investment bankers, which left me more than ready to resume a discussion of the “broad side of the barn.”  As important as all these issues of cost of capital, production tax credits, and Senate bills addressing master limited partnerships may be, this really had been, to some degree, an exercise in missing the forest for the trees.  (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Photovoltaics

We frequently come across the concept of “accelerators,” i.e., forces that cause certain phenomena to speed their way into our lives.  Recent examples are the adoption of the Internet and cell phones, both of which exceeded analysts’ expectations by an order of magnitude. 

This hasn’t slipped past the notice of the venture capital firms, who are busily looking for the next “killer application” in mobile commerce and social media.  But while I’m sure they’re barking up the right tree, it’s not where my interest lies.  For my money, we have all the convenience and entertainment we need right now as a society.

Having said that, it sure would be good if we could run into one or more accelerators in clean energy and sustainability.  But what would they look like?  (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

I’m almost too tired to write.  A total of about six hours of sleep in the past two nights has hit me hard.  I used to do this stuff standing on my head 20 years ago, but it’s starting to affect me at this point.

In any case, it’s wonderful being back in New York City for the Renewable Energy Finance Forum at the Waldorf Astoria, and the traditional cocktail reception next door at St. Barts church.  If you think it’s strange that an Episcopalian church built in 1872 transforms itself into a gin joint in the evenings, I have to confess that the thought crossed my mind too.  I’m told that times got tough and they needed the money.  As I mentioned to one of the people working there at last year’s event, “I’m  glad I wasn’t in the room when the suggestion was made that a house of God double as a bar.  It must have been an awkward moment.”

In any case, the day was terrific.  In addition to the action at the conference, I had two apppointments elsewhere in Manhattan with some top-level investors that went really well.  Time for some sleep.

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

At the risk of appearing immodest, I put together a terrific meeting this morning involving 2GreenEnergy’s transportation visionary Dan Sturges and some key industry players. I hung on every word, and really learned a lot.

I noted after we had adjourned that while the concept of sustainability was mentioned, it really didn’t get very high billing – and I just don’t understand this. The last time we changed our transportation paradigm (100 years ago when cars made our lives so much better and easier, enabled the concept of a suburb, etc.) it was really about convenience.

Now it’s about survival. Dealing with national security, climate change, ocean acidification, etc. are issues that lie at the base of  humankind’s very existence here on Earth.  One might think we’d be addressing all this with something of a sense of urgency. 

 

 

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