Cleantech In Da House (Brooklyn's House, That Is)

NYU-Poly's MetroTech Campus

“Brooklyn is in the House” or Cleantech is in Brooklyn's House, I should say.

The New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) and New York University’s Polytechnic Institute (NYU-Poly) announced yesterday they will open a 10,000-square-foot cleantech incubator in 15 MetroTech in downtown Brooklyn.

There’s room for 20 cleantech startups in the incubator, including those focusing on energy efficiency and technologies that enhance New York City’s resilience in the face of climate change.

Last fall’s Superstorm Sandy helped focus the city’s attention on where the gaps are in its own ability to weather such storms, and heightened awareness about technologies that can mitigate such impacts, as well as reduce the causes.

Downtown Brooklyn is becoming something of a hub for the tech economy across the river from Manhattan with its Silicon Alley. The area even has a new moniker: “Brooklyn Tech Triangle.”

"Harnessing NYC's leadership in data and information technology, local entrepreneurs are developing new business models and technologies to help solve global urban problems, from energy efficiency to climate adaptation," David Gilford, assistant director of NYCEDC, told me via email.

NYU-Poly and NYCEDC already operate a cleantech incubator, New York City Accelerator for a Clean and Resilient Economy (NYC ACRE), which I’ve written about before on The Green Skeptic.

The new space will have room for more cleantech startups, including those in manufacturing, as well as cleanweb.

"We're really excited about this next phase of our growth, and the opportunity to work with great partners like NYCEDC, NYSERDA, Con Edison, National Grid and others," said NYU-Poly's innovation and entrepreneurship director Micah Kotch. "There are massive challenges to be solved around climate and energy, and we want to empower entrepreneurs to be part of the solution.

The doors of the NYC Clean Technology Entrepreneur Center will open in the fall of 2013.

With Artisan Exchange, Collaborative Economy Meets Specialty Foods Movement

Co-working works well for techies, freelancers, and artists -- why not for small food businesses?

That's what Frank Baldassarre and Artisan Exchange are trying to answer out in their West Chester, PA, manufacturing and distribution center.

Frank, Green Skeptic readers will recall, was the idea man behind e3bank, which wanted to be the first triple bottom line bank in the country.

When e3bank ran straight into the collapsing economy, a market weary of banking, and socially responsible investors without any capital, Frank had to pivot.

Frank Baldassarre's a survivor. As a banker, he's lived through the S&L crisis, the dot-com bubble, and the latest market downturn.

"I've seen these cycles before," he told me last Friday during a tour of his new venture. "And I really believe we're starting to see signs of real recovery."

Frank's wife and brother-in-law run Golden Valley Farms Coffee Roasters, which owned a 27,000-square-foot building where it housed its coffee service products and supplies. (Golden Valley has offices and roasting facilities at one end of the building.)

"Basically, the bulk of our facility was full of paper cups, lids, straws, stirrers, and stuff like that," Frank said. "You have to sell a lot of paper cups that have little or no margin to make enough to cover overhead."

Increasingly, the company focused on its core competency, Frank offered, "importing, roasting and distributing world class Fair Trade, organic coffee and shade-grown coffees."

At first, Frank tried to lease or sell the extra warehouse space, but there wasn't much call for light manufacturing in the region and there were no buyers for such a large space.

Frank and his family like to eat locally, healthy, and well; a combination that had them running around to specialty shop in the region.

Simultaneously, Frank began to wonder how all these food manufacturers with specialty, small batch products were able to survive. Many were working out of their homes, isolated and alone, and didn't have access to the commercial facilities that would make their business scalable.

With the expansion of the slow, local, and organic specialty food market, Frank hit upon an idea. He had an empty space; the market had a need. Why not combine the two?

Thus Artisan Exchange was born.

Dividing the space into 120-square-foot "blocks," Artisan Exchange rents the spaces to small-scale, individual food manufacturers -- from heirloom cakes to hot sauces, from cheese spreads to bake-at-home pizza and gelati -- providing the entrepreneurs access to a centralized, commercial-grade sanitation facility, shared retail space in the form of a year-round weekly market, and the kind of collaborative,"you're not alone" atmosphere that co-working spaces engender.

In addition, Artisan Exchange collectively markets the tenants under their own banner, which helps attract customers to the weekly marketplace at the site and makes advertising more affordable for the individual businesses. Artisan Exchange is exploring cooperative buying for supplies and materials the entrepreneurs need to create their products.

A year ago, Artisan Exchange opened its doors to its first member-tenants. Now, with one of the original tenants, a pasta maker, having outgrown its walls, the space is almost fully subscribed. There are plans for a brewpub, as well as a full commercial kitchen, and that's only the beginning.

Frank Baldassarre solved Golden Valley's real estate problem with an entreprenuerial solution that provides an affordable environment for entrepreneurs committed to producing hand-crafted, sustainable foods.

Now, that's a delicious idea.

For more of the flavor of Artisan Exchange, check out this video from WCTV:

Power to the People: EY's Renewable Energy Index Ranks Country Attractiveness

For the past ten years, Ernst & Young has published a quarterly index analyzing the attractiveness of countries around the world for developing renewable energy.

Called the Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index (or RECAI, for short), the index has provided a barometer of the renewable energy sector.

Established in 2003, the quarterly publication ranks 40 countries for their "attractiveness" of renewable energy investment and deployment.

The latest edition of the RECAI cites energy demand, natural resource, technology costs, access to finance, and global competitiveness as key influences for investors.

Global annual clean energy investment totaled US$269b in 2012, representing a five-fold increase on 2004, according to the report. And the sector is now becoming competitive with more traditional fossil fuel energy sources.

New and improved technologies, such as cheaper, more efficient solar panels, biomass boilers, and even small wind turbines, are those technologies cited by the Index that allow energy users to generate their own power where and when they need it.

This "democratization" of energy sources provides greater flexibility when it comes to energy generation and management.

The latest RECAI includes a revised, updated methodology reflecting shifts in investment drivers and the sector's maturing since the report’s creation 10 years ago.

An increased focus on the role renewable energy plays in each country’s energy mix, energy supply and demand, and the cost competitiveness of renewable energy, are some of the changes reflected in the new methodology, according to its editors.

As with other country attractiveness indices, EY has also adopted an increased emphasis on the economic and political stability of each particular market.

"Market fundamentals, such as energy demand growth, security of energy supply and the affordability of renewable energy, feature as some of the most prominent drivers of renewable energy growth today," says RECAI's chief editor Ben Warren.

"Our revised methodology allows us to analyze each market's investment attractiveness much more effectively by considering these factors and weighting them accordingly," claims Warren, who serves as Ernst & Young UK Energy and Environmental Finance Leader and Global Cleantech Transactions Leader.

The revised index sees the US regain the top spot in terms of attractiveness, as high barriers to entry for external investors realign China into second place.

Despite that change, the RECAI finds prospects for growth for the sector in China remain strong with continued GDP growth, increasing energy demand, and the ongoing strategic importance of the sector to the local economy providing solid foundations for the future.

You can download the latest RECAI at www.ey.com/recai

(Disclosure: The author is marketing director for EY's Global Cleantech Center, which is one of the sponsors of the RECAI.)

Tesla "S" Garners Consumer Reports Best Car Rating...Ever

Tesla Model S

The Consumer Reports headline reads, "The Tesla Model S is our top-scoring car"

"There, we said it," CR goes on to say. "The Tesla Model S outscores every other car in our test Ratings. It does so even though it's an electric car. In fact, it does so because it is electric."

They were impressed with the car's "excellent handling, a comfortable ride, and lots of room inside. Plus, it has a front trunk where other cars' gasoline engines would be, in addition to its large rear cargo space."

The engine delivers "impressive power, right now, and it is impressively efficient. The Model S uses about half the energy of a Toyota Prius every mile, and it has more than twice the range—about 200 miles—of any other electric car we've driven."

"Inside," CR notes, the Tesla S, "looks like something Marty McFly might have brought 'back from the future' in place of his iconic fusion-powered DeLorean." They liked the giant iPad-like control panel in the center of the dashboard and how everything worked better than they expected.

"So is the Tesla Model S the best car ever?" CR says it comes close, especially if "your needs are confined to the Tesla's driving range" and ultimately determined "the Model S is truly a remarkable car."

An impressive review for an impressive vehicle. Check out CR's video: Tesla S video. Kudos to Elon Musk and Tesla Motors.


  

My Three Take-Aways from BNEF Summit 2013

Last week was the BNEF Summit (Bloomberg New Energy Finance), the annual gathering of the clean energy faithful curated by Michael Liebreich.

BNEF puts on a good show. Their analysts have a deep understanding of their particular focus area and they know how to present data, and the other panelists and presenters are always top-shelf.

Having been a part of the Summit two years in a row now, I see the value in getting such a group together for an annual sit-down to have a look under the cleantech/new energy hood.

Survey says, "It's the policy, stupid."

As one attendee, @electricityyoda, Tweeted during the event, "Yoda once said 'Always pass on what you have learned.'" Taking his advice, here are my three take-aways:

1.) Gas is now part of the "clean energy" mix.

Whether you like it or not, natural gas, specifically in the US, but increasingly elsewhere, is now part of the conversation.

Frack-water aside, gas has had a huge impact.  For some, gas is a bridge to cleaner technologies; for others it's a pier, and for still others, gas appears to be a destination.

It remains to be seen whether the impact on renewables will be net-negative or net-positive. If gas "hooks up" with solar, as NRG's David Crane suggested, it could dominate the future electricity supply in the US.

(On the subject of fracking, I think there are still plenty of opportunities and needs for technologies to address the fracking chemicals, clean up the water, and to capture the CO2 emissions generated from the process.)

2.) Policy (or lack thereof) still breeds uncertainty.

Seventy-nine percent of BNEF Summit participants answering an onsite poll said policy and regulation were the largest uncertainties for energy investment. (See photo.) And this doesn't show any signs of changing any time soon. Especially in the US, where very few expect major energy legislation.

Small wins will have to do for now, such as the legislation introduced by Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Chris Coons (D-Delaware), that would extend the master limited partnership program to clean energy companies.

The program, which Murkowski indicated has bipartisan support in both the Senate and the House, allows companies to raise funds like acorporation and pay taxes as a partnership. Currently, the program provides favorable tax status only for oil and gas projects and other fossil fuel companies.

3.) Costs continue to come down, making renewables more affordable...but is the grid ready for it?

As BNEF reported, "the cost of installing a gigawatt of renewable energy capacity is now about 10 percent lower during the period through 2030 than it projected in 2011," but is the grid ready for it? We have an aging infrastructure and our delivery system is out of whack.

As NRG's Crane quipped, "the 21st Century economy should not be based on wooden [utility] poles."

For more on the BNEF Summit, and to see some of the speeches from the event, check out the Summit videos here.  


(Disclosure: my employer, Ernst & Young LLP is a sponsor of the BNEF Summit, through our Global Cleantech Center. Opinions mine.)

Focus on Teams, Customers, and Going to Market, Investors Tell Mid-Atlantic Energy Forum

Dr. Cheryl Martin Addressing
Mid-Atlantic Energy Tech Forum

"We focus on teamwork," Cheryl Martin, Deputy Director of ARPA-E (Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy) in her keynote address to the Mid-Atlantic Energy Technology Forum last night. "There has to be a strong team and if we need to bring in a CEO to take the company to market, we will."

Dr. Martin, in her second year with the research and commercialization agency, spoke to a crowd of around 200 energy enthusiasts, investors, and entrepreneurs at Philadelphia's Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University.

"We look for high-potential, high-impact energy technologies that are solving real problems, and the dedicated teams that can bring them to market," Martin noted. "We just celebrated our fourth anniversary. We've got more to do."

Marking its own 5th year, the Mid-Atlantic Energy Tech Forum (formerly Cleantech Investment Forum) is a partnership between the law firm of Blank Rome and the Cleantech Alliance Mid-Atlantic, which I co-founded in 2008 with Kevin Brown of the search firm Hobbes & Towne.

The Forum has grown into the premier showcase for the region's most promising companies in energy technology, cleantech, and resource efficiency.

Last night's presenting companies ranged from software as a service offerings such as Propel IT, which uses data and incentives to reduce fuel consumption in trucking fleets, to Rentricity's plug-in microturbine that captures energy generated by pressure reducing valves in the nation's water distribution system.

The CEO presenters included serial entrepreneurs and a former banker who each explained their solutions in 7-minutes pitches. All highlighted their management teams as well as their revenue structures and some spoke of the importance of customers.

Electric cars and dinosaurs were featured outside the Forum.

The focus on customers was raised earlier in the evening by the investor panel, which I moderated.

"In my years engaging with cleantech companies, most firms don't make delivering a superior customer experience the top priority like Apple does," Diana Propper de Callejon of Expansion Capital Partners noted.

As for opportunities in the sector, panelists Andrew Garman of New Venture Partners and Purnesh Seegopaul of Pangaea Ventures, each suggested the funding ecosystem for research and development has expanded and that sustainable solutions are needed in everything from buildings to fossil fuel use require advanced materials.

There has also been a boon in corporate venture capital, which has helped fill the investor syndicate pool as other VCs have left the water.

Success breeds success, however, as in most investing.

"We look for patterns of successful companies and want to replicate those patterns in other disruptive industries," said Seegopaul.

As one attendee told me during the cocktail reception after the program, his key takeaway was that business model innovations that can scale, focus on the customer, and disrupt their industry will win in the current market -- as long as they have a strong team and financial rigor.

Good lessons for any business, but especially in the current cleantech and energy environment.


(DISCLOSURE: The author is co-founder of the Cleantech Alliance Mid-Atlantic, one of the hosts of the event describe herein.)