-
-
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
Subscribe
CleanTech Events
November 23rd, 2011
The Polarization of Energy
TOPICS: Business Insights, CleanTech Events, NEW YORK
It’s no secret that at the core of the Supercommittee’s failure earlier this week is the increasing polarization of American politics. Huffington Post contributor and law professor June Carbone illustrates this transition over the past half-century:
“A half century ago, neither political party disproportionately consisted of those who favored a my-way-or-the-high-way approach. Unbending ideologues did not make it into leadership positions. Today, it may be the only way to get elected – for one of the parties. That party has framed the debt limit as a matter of principle and used it to fire up the base. For a group inclined to see the world in terms of absolutes, compromise can accordingly only be seen as betrayal.”
What’s causing this polarization? It’s certainly not that Americans feel that this polarization is good for the country. Eight in ten Americans disapprove of Congress, more than half disapprove of the President, and three-quarters believe that the country is headed in the wrong direction. So what gives? Read past the break for the full story and join the Green Light Distrikt Facebook group for updates on new events, blog posts and more. + Continue Reading
6 Comments
November 21st, 2011
Update on GLD UK: Trends, blooms, philosophy and crowdsourcing
TOPICS: CleanTech Events, EnergyBar, London
I want to give you all a brief update on the Green Light Distirkt over in the UK. Since the founding of GLD in London more than six months ago, things have been going from strength to strength. GLD UK has so far, hosted five fascinating Energy Bars, with speakers each bringing their own unique twist of insight.
May – The start!
May was our inaugural Energy Bar in London; the first small step in building up traction in the UK. Conveniently, Chris Williams happened to be travelling through Europe completing research for the development of the Hitchhikers Guide to Cleantech. During his stop off in London he dropped by to give a talk on the founding of GLD and his latest projects. The event was a fitting start for GLD UK to host our first Energy Bar with the GLD founder in town. + Continue Reading
November 1st, 2011
What I Learned at the Harvard Business School Energy Symposium
BOSTON -Like in today’s U.S. electoral politics, energy is an overwhelmingly partisan issue. On one end are the oil and gas types such as Dr. Matthias Bichsel (Shell), who believe that conventional energy can supply the world with all its energy supply now and in the future. On the other end are the clean energy types such as Bill McKibben (350.org), who believe that we must move entirely to renewable energy in order to avoid the worst impacts of global climate change. While both sides may be right, the former will break the planet and energy security and the latter will break the economy – neither will provide a secure, healthy and prosperous world for future generations.
The answer is clearly somewhere in between, and that’s what I appreciated most about the open-minded dialogue I found at the recent Harvard Business School’s Energy & Environment Symposium, where I attended presentations about cleantech, distributed generation, unconventional fuels and global energy policy. All of these areas and more, according to Matthew Nordan of Venrock, “are bursting with opportunity.” There are some big names below – from the CEO of A123 Systems to a high-level policymaker at the World Bank – read past the break for the transcript of the day’s presentations and join the Green Light Distrikt Facebook group for updates on new events, blog posts and more.
October 25th, 2011
Two Awesome Events for Boston Area Cleantech Entrepreneurs
TOPICS: BOSTON, CleanTech Events, EnergyBar
I find that great events have three things in common. First, a very specific topic for a specific group of professionals. Second, you walk away having learned something and had an expectation of what you were going to learn when you RSVP’d. General networking is great but by itself can be boring. Third, a great crowd. The learnings from the crowd can often be better then the ones gained from the speakers, but you still need both.
In November, I’m helping to organize two events that will be extremely useful for professionals and entrepreneurs interested in the cleantech space in the Boston area. Each event is targetting a different and growing part of the industry.
HeatSpring Renewable Energy Meetups
The first is the HeatSpring Renewable Energy Meetup. It’s specifically targeted at professionals who are marketing, selling, designing or installing geothermal heat pumps, solar pv, or solar thermal systems. We’ll be having 6 presenters that will share best practices they’ve learned in the industry.
RSVP Here: http://heatspringmeetup.eventb
Date/Location. Sea Dog Brew Pub. Woburn, MA. 6pm – 8pm. Nov 29th
Green Light Distrikt and Energy Bar are hosting the 4th Energy Bar. The theme is how to scale a venture after initial sales. High growth cleantech companies have specific challenges to overcome in building sales after initial sales. The presenters will discuss common obstacles and how to overcome them. Presenters will be @cleantechvc, Rob Day, and Mike Feinstein VP of Sales and Marketing at Digital Lumens.
Details here: http://energybarboston.eventbrite.com/
Date/Location. Greentown Labs, Boston, MA. 5:30pm-8:30pm Dec. 1
October 11th, 2011
What I Learned at EnerNOC’s EnergySMART Conference
TOPICS: BOSTON, CleanTech Events
The other week I had the pleasure of attending EnerNOC’s EnergySMART conference. It was a great opportunity to meet, learn and share ideas with other smart-grid, cleantech and sustainability professionals. I summarize my experience below.
Energy Management is a Vastly Untapped Resource
Did you know that the US is only 24th in the world in terms of energy efficiency utilization (and still a novel idea in the UK)? Being able to measure and manage energy consumption to smooth out energy peaks and transform commercial and industrial complexes into virtual power plants is just the beginning of harnessing the power of energy efficiency. It is a “great time to be in energy management”, said opening keynote speaker Bill Aulet, there are so many great Boston start-ups such as Next Step Living that provide a service that enables real bottom line saving, a positive ROI for energy efficiency projects and a strategy for mitigating risk factors. “This is not your father’s energy industry,” and as it evolves, it will be important to stay nimble, constantly learning and applying new technology.
…and Demand Response is Just the Beginning
With DemandSMART, EnerNOC’s enterprise, SaaS product, companies can easily measure and cut their energy consumption, receive payment for lowering demand and gain a competitive edge (Iron Mountain are you listening?). As the correlation between sustainability and profitability becomes more direct, cost centers can become revenue centers enabling companies to see new opportunities and innovate. Given how easy it is to partner with EnerNOC and start receiving checks almost immediately in the mail – I was surprised that customers were not beating down their doors – but, as I have learned, it will take some time before their solution becomes as “widely accepted a business practice as accounting.”
Looking Beyond DR – Carbon Accounting Helps Mitigate Risk
Looking to go beyond just measuring kWh? EnerNOC’s CarbonSMART solution is designed to give organizations data collection capabilities, analytics, reporting and mitigation planning for scope 1-3 activities. Akamai “reduced its carbon intensity by 50% in 2 years” and gained a greater understanding of its energy drivers. With companies such as Walmart who are ushering in more transparency in their supply chain, companies will be pressured into disclosing and eventually mitigating their GHG – so why not be proactive? EnerNOC’s product helps companies stay ahead of the curve, avoid cumbersome spreadsheets by providing “Carbon Counseling” to help measure, prioritize and deploy GHG mitigation strategies.
Networking & Building Partnerships is Key
It’s all about making connections and learning from one another, remarked Gregg Dixon, EnerNOC’s SVP of Sales & Marketing, who actively encouraged networking at the event. By engaging, collaborating and building bridges across various industries new solutions can be developed to make energy data more meaningful. Because the market is still relatively young, fragmented and lead times for energy projects are quite long, building support networks within business, political and non-profit arenas will be key in moving our country towards energy transparency and independence.
Overall, I Thought this Was a Great Event!
The combination of excellent speakers, content and location was a great mix for learning about current energy issues as well as EnerNOC’s product offering. I will be looking to see how the company develops mobile apps that enable customers to access, monitor and implement energy measures right from their smartphone. I will also be interested to see how EnerNOC leverages customer learnings that can benefit the entire network. I also hope that the low social media adoption rate for this industry improves to help increase awareness, facilitate learning and enable real progress.
