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Green Light Distrikt
Green Light Distrikt is about entrepreneurship focused on the cleantech sector. Edited by Chris Williams with frequent guest posts from friends, experts and industry insiders from clusters across the globe. Our goal is to provide a place where cleantech entrepreneurs in various clusters across the globe can learn from one another. Green Light Distrikt is creating the "Hitchikers Guide to Clentech" to provide a resource for cleantech entrepreneurs. Read more
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Tag Archives: solar
June 21st, 2010
Namaste Solar Puts Their Money Where Thier Mouth Is – 2000% Growth in 3 Years [Audio Interview]
TOPICS: Interviews, Renewable Energy
Here’s a little snippet to kick off the the launch of The Green Light Distrikt – Boulder, an interview I did with Lauren Coyne from Namaste Solar about six months ago.
We’ve been kickin’ around Boston for the past couple months and now I’m curious how things are going in other US cities. We’ll do much the same thing that we did in Boston, recruit young cleantech pros that are working in the industry that are interested in joining our community. I’ve been speaking with James Moreau who is going to start writing soon. Stay tuned for his first post, the goal is to get a follow up with Namaste and potentially get some video footage. Also, if you’re in the Boulder area and interested in joining us, contact me.
Here’s the story.
Alteris Inc, a New England based company, was named to Inc 500, 500 fastest growing companies with about 1000% growth. While I was skimming the list I noticed that Namaste Solar had grown over 2000% in the same period, so I was curious about their growth.
I contacted Namaste and Lauren nicely and quickly responded to me.
Lauren is a co-owner, and in charge of education and community outreach. We had a great conversation, and it lasted about 40 minutes. I had to split the interview into two parts due to the constraints of uploading.
Here’s the interview
Nameste Solar Interview Part 1
Namaste Solar Interview Part 2
For your reference here’s an overview of the questions I asked during each part.
Part 1:
- How did you get into the industry? What’s your story?
- How did your experience getting the Colorado state incentives passed give you skills and information that were helpful in landing the job with Namaste?
- You’ve grown so fast, what was the source of your growth? What challenges has that created for your company and how have you dealt with them?
- You mentioned that the new incentives were a large part, but it seems like you have grown much faster then the industry and your competitors, what’s the reason for this?
- What are unique aspects of your business model?
- Describe the co-ownership model? It seems unique and gives you a clear social dimension do your business, why and how was that business model chosen and how do you keep that structure with growth?
- How does co-ownership affect the day to day decision making process?
- Looking to the future, do you plan on expanding into other markets other than Colorado with your current business model?
Part 2:
- What hiccups do you see in industry growth in Colorado?
- Has financing of residential systems drastically changed the Colorado market? How?
- What are you most excited to see happening in the industry in the next 5 years?
- What advice would you give to people, current graduates, career changers who are outside of the industry looking to get in?
- You mentioned training and workshops, are there any particular things you’d like to see when going through resumes?
- Within a solar company, do you see more opportunity on the sales, design or installation side?
Here are some of my reflections and conclusions after speaking with Lauren.
- She’s really nice. It was about six months ago that we spoke, but I still remember this.
- She has a really insightful explanation into the role of state incentives in Colorado and how the feed-in-tariffs with Excel energy work
- They donate 1% of revenue to develop solar on non-profits every year regardless of their profits.
- It’s clear that career changers need to stand out from the crowd and do something to show their passion for the industry. If they’re looking to get into the industry just to make money, it won’t make your attractive to companies, you need to be dedicated to the mission.
- The largest that stood out is it seems that Nameste Solar put their money where their mouth is. Here are some examples:
- They operate a low emissions fleet
- They operate in LEED certified building, zero waste buildings
- Co-ownership model has clear social impact. At that time we spoke 47 of their 62 employees were co-owners.
- Donate 1% of revenue, NOT profit
All in all, I want to thank Lauren for speaking with me. I was great to learn about the Colorado industry and I’m looking forward to seeing if James can get some video footage of some of their installations.
What did you think about the interview?
Chris
Tagged Alteris Inc, colorado, inc 500, lauren coyne, nameste solar, solar, state incentives
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June 18th, 2010
The Unseen Torture of PV Integration in Mass: Waiting for Rebates, Permitting, & Inspections.
TOPICS: BOSTON, Government Policy, Renewable Energy
If Kimbo Slice signs a contract with an installer/integrator for a 5kW PV system on his house in MA on Monday, and it takes 2 days to install 5kW, why should Kimbo not be able to turn on his system on Thursday?
A. Commonwealth Solar Rebate Approval: 4-12 week wait
Kimbo knows that he can get up to $5,000 in grant money from the Commonwealth Solar II (CSII) program, which makes his investment cost-effective. What he might not know is that the CSII program prohibits installation prior to the grant being awarded or rejected, per section 3.3 of the CSII program manual.
I’ve dealt with this first hand, having applied for hundreds of rebates through Alteris Renewables Inc. since February 2009. The uncertainty causes issues with (1) equipment purchasing & forecasting, (2) cash flow predictions, (3) project scheduling delays, and (4) risk of losing the building permit application fee.
B. Building Permit Approval: 1 – 4 week wait.
Building Permit applications are the most painful part of any project, mainly because:
- Most inspectors have no idea what a PV system is or what constructing it entails. Therefore, before they grant their approval, they demand more and more backup documentation. More time dealing with building inspectors equals less profit for the project. >> Solution: The BBRS should mandate training for local inspectors on the new technology and the equipment used for installation.
- Every MA Building Department has a different application and process, and many haven’t upgraded their basic internal technology. Somerville uses legal-sized carbon copy applications. Waltham won’t accept anything but handwritten card-stock applications. Every town has a different application, and a different process. This means (1) installers must drive to simply obtain the applications, and (2) the town won’t accept digital versions of the applications. >> Solution: The BBRS should have a standard building permit application that is accepted by every municipality in MA, just like RI does. They should also
C. Commissioning (officially turning on the system): 1-4 week wait
In order to turn on a system, the electrical inspector signs a form, the installer submits it to the utility, and the utility authorizes system commissioning. You’d think that this part of the process would be a piece of cake – the system is finally built and able to be turned on, but paperwork can easily hold up project close-out for a couple weeks. Here’s why:
- Most MA Inspectors often only work part-time. This adds more wait time to both reaching the inspector, and scheduling an inspection. Note the link above, showing Harwich, MA inspector’s hours: 8:30-9:30, three days a week. Good thing Kimbo doesn’t live in Harwich.
- MA Inspectors are uncomfortable with PV technology, so they often request (1) the electrician, (2) the construction foreman, (3) and the homeowner to be present. This creates a huge headache for installers trying to coordinate all these people’s busy schedules, and accommodate for the inspector’s schedule. If the inspector blows off this meeting (probably one in ten jobs), the process starts all over again.
- The MA Interconnection Tarriff allows utilities ten business days to authorize system commissioning. This is absurd. If NSTAR can send me an approval in 24 hours, why does it take National Grid or Unitil a week and a few reminders to do the same thing?
Sadly, a PV project sold today can only be turned on as fast as it can jump through all of these bureaucratic hoops. But, if you’re a salesman, how do you tell Kimbo that he has to wait not three days, not four, but 180? You don’t– it’s easier (and probably safer) to sell him on the best-case scenario, and pray that the project clears every hurdle.
The solar industry should place more priority on decreasing wait time due to paper processing. All the efforts to stimulate and grow the solar industry mean nothing until the system starts producing clean energy. The polar bear’s iceberg will have melted due to climate change (if that’s what motivates you) in the time it takes Massachusetts to mess around with all this paperwork baloney. Not to mention that delays create irritated customers like Kimbo Slice. Refuse to accept “bureaucracy is what it is” as an excuse for inaction. This is a real roadblock to the success of the solar industry.
Please comment if you have any thoughts, ideas, or reactions. Thanks,
Miles
Tagged alteris, incentives, inspection, interconnect, kimbo slice, massachusetts, paperwork, permits, pv, solar
June 8th, 2010
Cleantech Development vs Deployment
TOPICS: BOSTON, Entrepreneurship, Renewable Energy
In Boston, Technology and Innovation are personified like Greek gods, but its mere mortals that bring these forces to life.
Readers of The Green Light Distrikt are likely also technology and innovation enthusiasts. We have to be – many of us are counting on new energy technologies to meet growing energy demand, while reducing environmental impacts and generating new traction for the economy.
But technology development and technology deployment are two separate endeavors, each with requisite incubation characteristics and catalysts. Deployment often depends on the scalability and price parity of new technologies, which can take many innovations and years beyond when the initial innovation actually occurs.
This discrepancy is the subject of a great piece by David Owens about MIT alum (PhDs are alums too, no?), MacArthur “genius,” and eco-inventor, Saul Griffith, which appeared in a recent issue of the New Yorker titles: “The Inventor’s Dilemma”. In describing the market challenges of an early invention for making corrective lenses in impoverished communities, Saul says, “It turned out we were solving the wrong problem.” David Owen connects the dots: “The real problem with eyeglasses in the developing world isn’t making lenses...its testing eyes and writing accurate prescriptions for people with little or no access to medical care.“ Without hands on and committed deployment, Griffith’s device was just another gadget. (Note: this is no knock on Griffith; he is, to say the least, an incredible eco-entrepreneur churning through inventions that have the potential to disrupt the Carbon Quo in a major way).
Organizing great people is the value that an organization like Somos Amigos provides. Somos Amigos is a California-based 501C3 service organization with operations in the Dominican Republic, where volunteer doctors, dentists, nurses and other medical staff – most of them from the U.S. – have served thousands of local patients since 1997. Of course, Somos Amigos makes use of modern equipment and technologies to accomplish its mission. But without the work and consistent hands-on human effort – 50-strong volunteer teams traveling to work at the clinic for weeks at a time, multiple times per year – the equipment would be collecting dust in the dark. New technologies have the potential to continue improving the world; but without a plan for and commitment to its application – indeed, a different skill set than the work of innovation itself – we’ll be relegated to the status quo.
Boston has a great tradition of people organizing to channel innovations into communities in need, where new technologies often have the potential to provide huge breakthroughs in standards of living. I’ve been particularly interested in and impressed by:
- MIT’s Fab Lab – The product of MIT prof Neil Gershenfeld, Fab Labs by themselves aren’t terribly special – a seemingly odd, $50k collection of hardware and (of course, open source) software. But paired with an evangelical desire to promote the DIY gospel, self-sustainability and distributed manufacturing, dozens of Fab Labs have been deployed to (at least) 16 countries, enabling local partners to develop custom technology solutions to regional problems (for example: wi-max systems for internet connectivity in rural parts of Afghanistan).
- EarthSpark – Based in Cambridge, EarthSpark works “with communities to provide access to clean energy technologies that make sense for their needs.” Currently, EarthSpark is focused on the reduction of energy poverty in Haiti, through the development and deployment of clean energy products, supply chains, educational resources and training. By effectively connecting with partners in Haiti, EarthSpark was able to distribute 3000 solar powered lamps in support of the earthquake relief effort.
- Anza – Lest we forget the true definition and purpose of technology, innovative products need not incorporate electronics or space age materials to provide value. Anza is keen on re-purposing trash to create high utility technology solutions for communities in need. Currently, Anza products like utility carts and solar cookers are making every-day tasks healthier and easier for thousands of villagers in Mozambique. A recent post by GLD Insider, Adam Standley, documents a recent Anza deployment trip to Africa.
And I’m happy to introduce (read: shamelessly promote) Clean Pursuits into the mix. Clean Pursuits aims to support the deployment of innovative technology solutions to communities in need through the promotional activities of a network of athletes and adventurers who participate in inspired, human-powered (i.e. “clean”) endurance events and expeditions. Currently, Clean Pursuits is working with Somos Amigos to develop a sustainable energy solution (likely solar) for clinic operations in the Dominican Republic (if you’re still reading, a vote for Clean Pursuits in the Network Solutions venture contest would go a long way. You can vote here –> http://pitch.co/entry/44227).
There are countless other example of people putting boots on the ground to share innovation and new technologies in a meaningful way – please let us know examples you’re aware of or participate in…
Tagged anza, clean pursuits, david owens, earthspark, MIT, saul griffith, solar, somos amigos, technology deployment, technology development, the inventors dilemma
May 27th, 2010
AC/DC Rocks the Bottom Billion – Musings on Electricifying Africa
TOPICS: BOSTON, Entrepreneurship, Renewable Energy
I was working with Anza Technologies in the remote village Matala, Tanzania last month. We deployed “appropriate technologies” to help rural farmers carry water more efficiently. I noticed that each of these “dollar-a-day” farmers had a cell phone but no electricity in their homes. How they charge their phone batteries may be the beginnings of an energy infrastructure unlike any we have seen.
The rural Matala region had largely leapfrogged land-based telecommunications infrastructure—pretty standard in the third world, but the cell phones hit some of the villages before electricity had, which raised some questions for me. I wondered how they charged them.
I found out that they charged up at one or two houses in a given village with electricity, or they’d give them to a friend to bring into town. In fact, it seemed they treat electricity like they do water—walk to a source, fill up, bring it home.
The farmers earn close to $1/day, so hooking into the grid is cost-prohibitive—nearly 4 years income. Getting a gas generator is an option that would cost nearly 1 year’s income. Alternatives like solar and wind? 1-2 years income. It is clear there is no solution other than scavenging for what electricity they can to power the few, small electronics they need. There is very little incentive to make these types of investments even if they could save the cash. Their investments take other forms.
Driving through the valleys of Kilimanjaro I noticed acres of crops where some corn was about 3-4’ higher than the rest. I asked our guide, Ibrahim, why. He said that the first rains came early this year, so farmers had to bet on whether to plant their seed or not. “If it’s a false start to the season, their seed is ruined. But if they wait too long, they miss an extra harvest.” So the farmers hedge by planting a portion of their crops during the early rain and saving most of their seed for later. When you’re making a dollar a day, crops are the only currency you have the volume to risk. Crops are their primary investment.
Accordingly, most farmers typically invest any spare cash into low-risk, low-return items like tools for work—things that bring an element of security and predictability to their business in the fields. They will not take a leap of faith in a technology which may only marginally improve yield, break, or be too expensive to maintain (take it from Paul Pollack if you don’t believe me). They need real, immediate cashflows from what they invest in—or small investments with short payback periods that hold inherently low risk.
I asked a bit more about alternative ways to get affordable power to the region. I learned about a company called Egg Energy. They were setting up portable battery charging stations in remote villages of Tanzania where consumers can access electricity at a price they can budget. I didn’t encounter any of the stations, but the idea made a lot of sense to me. It got me thinking about the evolution of the country’s “grid”.
With this “distributed power redemption” model (I dub thee), there is promise that the need for DC power electronics (mainly battery charging & lighting) will pull-through alternatives in remote locations where grid-connected AC is cost prohibitive. It could take the form of distributed DC charging stations. The model could be a good stepping stone to rural electrictrification by alternatives. It may even introduce further standardization in global DC infrastructure, as increasing DC power supply & demand cut-out the AC/DC inverter-middle-man (imagine a standard DC wall plug that’s not a jerry-rigged cigarette lighter?!). It will be interesting to see how elements from this embryonic business model will affect the 1st world’s AC/DC power infrastructure in the coming years.
Tagged distributed power, Geothermal, hydroelectric, kilimanjaro, matala, moshi, photovoltaics, remote power, rural electrification, solar, tanzania, wind
May 15th, 2010
How do you get a Green Job out of College?
TOPICS: BOSTON, Renewable Energy
There is a lot of news about 37 Million Green Jobs by 3030 and that Competition for Renewable Energy Jobs is Getting Intense. With all this news you’d think getting a green job is easy and they’re everywhere. In the past 6 months, I’ve started to hear the same question A LOT. “How Do I get a Green Job out of College” When I go to conferences, meetups, tweetups as well as emails through my blog I get the same question, “How do I do what you did and get a green job out of college?”
I always wanted to help and noticed I kept giving the same advice so I decided to create another website The Green Collar Job Guide for College Students and also started a Facebook community called “Green Collar Job Guide” to help connect with college students and help them.
I decided to start another website because my blog, The Green Light Distrikt, is focused more on connecting professionals who are already in the industry and not people looking to enter the industry. The goal with the new site will be to post the information about starting a career so it can be a resource for all students.
A couple of my friends have response to this new site asking “Aren’t you afraid you’re giving students information so they’ll compete with you for your own job?” To that I respond very simply
- I want 100% RENEWABLE ENERGY. Period. To do this, we’ll need a lot more young, passionate, people selling, engineering, installing, and inventing these technologies
- The industry is growing so quickly, there is room for everyone
Here is the introduction video where I describe the story behind the green collar job guide and how I’m trying to help students.
Right now, the goal is to help college students answer the question in three ways.
- How to Get a Green Job Blog- Every week I’ll post some free advice, resources or tip for college students looking to get a green job. If you need anything, just ask, I’m here to help. My only request is that you ask publicly so when I answer everyone can benefit.
- “The Guide” – The Green Collar Job Guide itself. I noticed that I always was giving students the same advice. So, I took that advice and put it into 7 steps with all the advice and resources I’ve picked up hundreds of hours of personal time and years in the industry that will allow any student to take their passion, focus it, and find their place in the industry. I’ve packaged that with over $500 in discounts on industry certified renewabel energy training for students that want to supplement their degrees.
- The Super Intern Search – The Super Intern Search search allows college students to apply for internships at awesome green companies. Companies comes to us to find awesome interns, and we find them.The problem with the traditional internship search is that 1) its take too much time to sort through 100s of resumes 2) resume and cover letters are not good indicators of someones ability to produce 3) most green companies really need interns but are growing very quickly and don’t have the time to sort through resume or hand hold interns.
Our first company is a Cambridge based start up called Wattzy. See the below video if you’d like to apply for a summer internship in Boston.
If you’d like to apply: Here is the important information
Company: Wattzy. A Boston based company that is creating an online platform where households will compete to save energy
Position: Summer intern. $1k Stipend over 10 weeks
- Create online content about energy efficiency with short article and blog posts
- Manage online community, facebook, twitter, face to face events.
Qualifications
- PASSIONATE about energy efficiency
- Go-getters, producers, will take the bull by the horns type of people.
- Amazing writing skills
- A plus is HTML/CSS, Blogging, Social Media skills and experience
Application Process
- Create a 30 second video with you name, college, and why you’re awesome and will be a super intern
- ‘Like’ The Green Collar Job Guide on Facebook so that we can follow up with you
- With you video attached post the following to your Facebook status: “@Greencollarjobguide this is my video application for the Wattzy Super Intern Search” This will be how you submit your application, we will not accept applications in any other form.
- The last day for submissions is on Monday May 31st, and we will only be accepting the first 100 applications
- We will follow up with best applications on May 31.
Why Are we using Facebook and Video instead of resumes?
- Resume are too susceptible to good writing skills that cover up actual passion and ability to get things done, video is not.
- With the video, you still have to prove your qualifications
- Growing companies really value interns but don’t have to time so sort through stacks of resumes
- Everyone is already on Facebook
- Video is harder to make, so naturally only those who are the most passionate will apply.
I look forward to seeing all the applications. As always, I’m always looking for feedback and input and if you have any questions please ask them.
This is my attempt to help college student start their career in the green industry. What else can we do? Perhaps a mentor-ship program? Very interested to hearing any and all feedback.
Chris Williams
Tagged college internships, Geothermal, green collar, green collar job, green internships, green jobs, solar, sustainable internship, wind
May 11th, 2010
VIDEO: The Future of Building Integrated Solar PV: CEO of Wakonda Technologies
TOPICS: BOSTON, CleanTech Kingpins, Local Events
Last month on April 20th, we hosted our first Clean Tech Kingpins events at the NEXUS Green Building Resource Center in downtown Boston.
It was a huge success! We had about 40 people, I met with some amazing people working on really innovative project. We saw 4 presentations from true leaders in the industry and a great question and answer sessions after the presentation.
Two pieces of good news. First, we caught it all on tape and I’ll be releasing each presentation with an overview of what was discussed starting today. Second, we’re going to make Clean Tech Kingpins a regular bi-monthly event that will serve as a place for young clean tech pros to recharge, find inspiration, connect with and becomes friends with their peers, and learn from current industry experts. So stay tuned!
Here’s who we had speak, and the order I’ll be writing about each discussion:
- Les Fritzemeir CEO and Founder Wakonda Technologies
- Paul Sellew CEO and Founder Harvest Power
- Chuck Lewin President New Generation Energy
- Jon Abe VP of Business Development Nexamp
Without further adieu, here is Les’s discussion on the current solar PV market, their opportunity, business model, and the future of building integrated solar PV. Enjoy!
Tagged solar, Solar PV, Wakonda Technologies
May 7th, 2010
Finally! A Renewable Energy Lawsuit
TOPICS: BOSTON, Government Policy, Renewable Energy
So there’s this lawsuit that just popped up where a Canadian energy company is suing the Massachusetts governments over a law that requires utilities to purchase their renewable energy from Massachusetts based firms.
Basically, I’m curious to see what holds water. I talked to some energy lawyers recently who think the interstate-commerce part of the suit may hold water, but the SREC (that a Solar Renewable Energy Credit) related charges are mostly hot air.
The inter-state issue is very… interesting. I personally find the interstate clause kind of murky, as it’s nice to give states the ability to bolster their own economies, though I suppose there’s a reason for the interstate commerce laws that goes deeper than just this one issue. And if Cape Wind (the main reason behind the suit, I think) looses out on the added benefit of this particular law, it could put a dent in the ‘financability’ of the project. Then again, this is the first offshore project in the states, I have a feeling the investors know they’re taking a risk to begin with.
As for the SREC issue, many states are currently acting out the same system without problems. There is no exclusion happening, it’s more a ‘if you want to operate in our state, you have to follow our rules.’ You could almost view it as a tax. Trans-Canada might get away with a lower SREC supply component than their competitors as a settlement out of the suit, but I doubt it’ll go too far beyond that.
The final thing here is, the SREC market, while lucrative for solar developers, is a small potato for Trans-Canada compared to the 2.4 billion dollar field of sticks in the ocean that Jim Gordon has planned. The Cape Wind project itself is larger than the entire solar market is expected to be in MA in 6 years.
Anyways, let’s see where this lawsuit goes. Strangely, you don’t see too many in our field. Must be because it’s always been small potatoes. I guess that means we’re growing!
