75 Green Businesses You Can Start to Make Money and Make a Difference. Glenn Croston
on a state-by-state basis, they will be difficult to trade because the rules will vary. Having a single, large market determined by federal rules would help this market grow and make it easier for markets to work. The experience of states starting to implement White-Tag markets can help regulators and industry leaders fine-tune future White-Tag efforts. ❦
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In states that already are implementing White-Tag markets, there is nothing preventing homeowners from certifying their efficiency measures and selling white tags. For this to work, a large number of small projects need to be grouped together by an aggregator who could then deliver the tags to the marketplace.
One accessible opportunity is with an energy services company, which makes efficiency modifications in buildings and industrial settings. Knowledge of mechanical and building systems is needed. Projects start by auditing buildings and businesses, suggesting a plan for saving energy, and carrying out this plan. Similar opportunities exist in verifying and certifying efficiency projects. White Tags are a unique product; when you pay someone for not using power, the verification of projects is crucial. Finally, an opportunity that grows with the increasing size of the market and volume of transactions is facilitating market transactions from business to business, or business to other organization. “There will be lots of middlemen in all of these transactions,” Bennett observes.
The opportunities for negawatt installation and verification include:
It’s still early days for White Tags in the United States. Everybody wants energy efficiency, and harnessing markets with White Tags might help make it happen. By selling White Tags, businesses can more rapidly pay off the investment they make in energy efficiency and justify the improvements more easily based on the rapid return on investment, a hurdle often encountered on the path toward energy efficiency. The growing trading market for White Tags will change minds about the value of energy efficiency and transform how we use energy—being negative can have a very positive impact on the environment and business.
GREEN LEADER
Peter Fusaro of Global Change Associates, New York, New York, is an expert on green trading, including White Tags and Green Tags, and the many successes and challenges of these markets. See his classes for in-depth knowledge about green trading (global-change.com).
OPPORTUNITY 10 Solar to Go
| The Market Need | Mobile power, freeing people from the power grid |
| The Mission | Build solar into a ubiquitous mobile power source |
| Knowledge to Start | Solar, electrical, design, engineering |
| Capital Required | $$ |
| Timing to Start | Months to years |
| Special Challenges | Finding a specific need and designing the right product for the market |
Many people today are always connected electronically, never without an iPod, smart phone, or other gizmo in their ear or face. I suspect they sleep plugged in, their dreams piped in electronically. The older end of this group has their BlackBerry mobile e-mail always on, always on the go. In the United States and other countries, many have abandoned a regular phone line, using instead a cell phone as their main telephone number.
With electronic gear increasingly integrated in our lives, electrical cords have become our lifeline. The horror of running out of juice looms large, and we worry about getting our next hit of electricity. Next time you are at the airport, notice those feverish power junkies clustered around stray electrical sockets with their phones and laptops.
Now imagine a life free from the constraints of this umbilical connection to the electrical grid. Solar solutions set us free. Mobile solar panels in a variety of formats are being developed and marketed to provide power for laptops, iPods, cell phones, and other electronic devices.
Who is the market for this solar-powered gadgetry? Young, urban, and on-the-go is one group—electronic devices are an integral part of their lifestyle, and the more integrated the power can be, the better. Outdoors enthusiasts are another group. They also have their mobile global positioning system (GPS) devices, radio, cell phone, and other devices that need a charge. As new solar technologies such as high-efficiency flexible panels or organic solar emerge, so will the opportunities to license these technologies to provide mobile power.
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Maybe the Climate Savers Computing Initiative will solve the laptop power problem, encouraging the development of more energy-efficient laptops that can run with 30 watts or less. The less power that laptops need, the better solar chargers will work with them.
Another market being addressed is laptop chargers—most laptops still have limited battery life, defeating the idea of a mobile computer. Imagine being able to take your laptop anywhere without worrying about running out of juice? The Solaris solar charger from Sierra Solar Systems is one solution, providing 15 or 22 watts of power, enough to charge a battery or run a low wattage computer.
One challenge is to get enough watts out of a charger to supply a laptop. The wattage supplied by a solar-power system depends on its size, efficiency, and how much light is hitting it. Because the amount of power collected is proportional to the surface area exposed to the sun, mobile solar panels are often designed to fold out to open to the sun. Solar power systems usually are rated according to the maximum level of energy they can supply in strong daylight. Typically laptops need 60 watts of power, so running a laptop from the charger would require at least this much. Panels are still expensive, and there is some pressure for mobile chargers to be small, so current solar laptop chargers usually generate 30 watts or less. A system like this can charge the battery given enough time but is not strong enough to power the computer. Either the chargers need to get stronger or the laptops need to use power more efficiently (or both).
Integrating solar power into electronics is one business opportunity. Sometimes this is as simple as matching solar panels and electronic devices together and selling them as a package. In other cases, integrating solar into electronic devices will take some design work. Keep your eyes and ears open, and your Google skills sharp, to find and sell great new solar gadgets before everyone else.
Smaller devices are easier to charge because they require less power and therefore smaller, less expensive solar chargers. The iSun is an iPod charger, and Solio (Berkeley, California) makes a popular cell-phone charger. Powerfilm of Ames, Iowa, already makes the R15-600 9 watt, 12V solar charger (hey guys, I think you need to work on its name) using a thin film technology. As a thin film, this charger is flexible and can be rolled up to make it easier to carry.
Taking mobile solar power to the next level may require new technologies, such as flexible thin films; using these a new generation of flexible thin-film solar can be built into clothing, briefcases, bags, and bikes. Thin films still are expensive for your roof, but for niche electronics applications, the cost of the panel is less of a factor.