Note: this article was updated in August 2022 to reflect recent changes in the industry.

The Global Clean Energy Investment Landscape

The cost of renewable energy continues to become more competitive with fossil fuels as LCOE drops. Following passage of tax cut legislation at the end of 2017, Greentech Media reports, "Much of the conversation in clean energy circles…has revolved around a potential shrinking of the tax equity market -- which accounts for between 40 percent and 60 percent of finance for individual solar and wind projects -- because of the reduction in value of renewables credits." According to Greentech Media, however, it appears that - so far at least -  corporate America is showing "continued interest in direct renewables investments." 

Last week, a mix of regulars and new faces converged for the 5^th Quarterly Cleantech  Podcasters Roundtable, perhaps the best we’ve had so far:

Energy storage is a central, even crucial, component in the transition to a clean energy economy.

#Cleantechers, this Thursday at 2:30 EST, we’ll host the 5^th Quarterly Cleantech Podcasters Roundtable.

We describe this show as a podcast for clean economy CEOs, investors and the people who advise them. As both an investor and an advisor, Graham has a foot in two of those categories. But he’s also one of the few people in cleantech who have served in elected office. Mayor Graham Richard served the city of Ft. Wayne, Indiana from 2000-2007 before taking the reins at Advanced Energy Economy to advocate for pro-sustainability policies.

Graham is now a senior advisor at the San Francisco-based investment fund, Finite, a perch that gives him a window into a number of leadership teams. But he was involved in clean energy long before it was cool. Graham is a cleantech “OC,” (“Original Cleantecher”) who installed the floorboards on which many of us now stand.

Here are the highlights of our conversation with Graham.

3:52 – All top-performing CEOs have five things in common:

1.) real passion

2.) purpose-driven solution

3.) ability to tell the company’s stories

4.) they build a trusting environment

5.) a digital-based platform that can scale

Cleantech executive teams are almost universally concerned with the impact of commoditization of their companies’ long-term growth. But if your product isn’t differentiated, then competing is just about winning on price – otherwise known as commoditization.

Digital Solutions for Securing Community Acceptance of Wind Energy – With Will Eberle of E.ON North America

This article was updated in June 2022 to reflect new developments in the industry.

The Importance of Public Affairs in the Micromobility Industry

Micromobility (MM) risks the fate of other disruptive industries that underinvested in public affairs — and were wiped out by politicians as a result. The gaps in other sectors’ missteps have included: ineffective campaigns at the local level, lack of supportive coalitions, staff without government experience, and not showing officials how supporting micromobility is politically safe and beneficial. Among the approaches micromobility should consider: consistently using social media to flag riders on pending policy decisions that affect them, driving calls to action using segmented data, and engaging riders in taking “microactivism” steps from their phones.

We describe our podcast as “Scaling Clean, the podcast for clean economy CEOs, investors and the people who advise them.” Ken Locklin is the first we’ve had on the show from the last category. And there’s a reason for that: Ken is the cleantech oracle you probably haven’t heard of because he has the enviable combination of foresight and humility.  

Abby Hopper is in her 5th year as the head of the Solar Energy Industries Association, the U.S.’s main solar trade association widely known as “SEIA.” She’s SEIA’s third CEO, taking over the reins right when the avowedly anti-renewables Trump Administration took power in 2016.