75 Green Businesses You Can Start to Make Money and Make a Difference. Glenn Croston

       CHAPTER 1

       Fueling Green Energy

      We need energy and lots of it. According to the 2003 book by Vijay Vaitheeswaran (Power to the People), the global energy business totals more than $2 trillion a year (yes, that’s trillion), and as the economy of the developing world grows rapidly, the global appetite for energy could increase another 50 percent by 2030 (International Energy Agency, World Energy Outlook, 2006). Mitigation of climate change is an important factor shaping public policy and the energy market, and is creating vast opportunities for fledgling energy companies to provide renewable, clean energy. With oil soaring to more than $120 per barrel and rising prices at the fuel pump, everybody is paying attention. This, in turn, drives the development of alternative fuels and the supporting, innovative businesses that supply those alternative fuels.

      Worldwide, energy production from renewable resources is growing rapidly. As concern about climate change and energy security grows, the market for renewable energy is booming. Government-mandated contributions from green power are giving the sector a big boost and the confidence that the drive for green power will last. In California, utilities are required to supply 20 percent of electrical generation from renewable energy by 2010 and 33 percent by 2020. The U.S. Department of Energy has targeted 30 percent of our transportation fuel to come from biofuels by 2030. Achieving these aggressive goals for renewable energy production is not easy. It is a huge change, creating equally huge opportunities for entrepreneurs.

      Venture capitalists know an opportunity when they see one and are pouring money into green energy, investing more than $900 million in cleantech in 2005, according to the Clean Edge report “Clean-Energy Trends 2006.” This investment is primarily in solar, wind, and biofuels. While such actions may be motivated in part by the desire to do the right thing, these are not philanthropic donations. Rather experienced and tough-minded venture capitalists think renewable energy is a good investment. That is the bottom line.

      Clean, quiet, and increasingly versatile, solar power is growing 40 percent a year (The Economist, March 10, 2007). The growth in solar power and continued technology innovation will drive down prices, further expanding the market and making rooftop solar panels increasingly competitive. In fact, the growth in solar-panel installation is so rapid, it can be difficult to train workers fast enough. This creates an opportunity for “green collar” workers in the energy sector and those who train them (Opportunity 1). Solar power also is increasingly diverse as it becomes integrated into purses and camping gear to power our plugged-in way of living (Opportunity 10). Solar ovens help people in the developing world reduce dependence on dangerous, polluting cooking stoves that burn charcoal, wood, and dung, and solar barbeques may remove pollutants from U.S. backyards (Opportunity 6). All of these are signs of the brighter solar future that eco-entrepreneurs are creating.

      Other forms of green energy also are growing rapidly, particularly wind. Utilities are installing large wind turbines at a breakneck pace, but smaller wind turbines are bringing power to homes and businesses, and architectural turbines on buildings may bring wind power downtown (Opportunity 2). Fuel cells remain costly for applications such as the long-awaited fuel-cell car, but eco-entrepreneurs are making rapid inroads in markets for clean, emergency-backup power (Opportunity 8). Like modern alchemists, researchers are even finding ways to use microbes to turn wastewater into electricity (Opportunity 7)—killing two birds with one stone.

      Our cars still rely almost entirely on oil, putting our economy in an increasingly precarious position. Since the oil shocks of the 1970s, our dependence on imported oil has only grown and the remaining oil reserves increasingly are concentrated in the hands of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Biofuels are being aggressively developed worldwide to provide alternatives, such as ethanol (Opportunities 4 and 5) and biodiesel (Opportunity 3). Biofuel production has increased dramatically but still accounts for only a small percentage of what we consume, ensuring a strong opportunity for many years to come.

      One energy resource that is often overlooked is simply using less energy. By living more efficiently, we get more out of the energy we already have. This is not only a good solution, hands down it’s the best solution. Power plants are a lot more expensive than compact fluorescent bulbs, insulation, and weather stripping. Conserving a megawatt by using it more efficiently is a better use of capital and natural resources than sinking money into new power plants. Energy saved from efficiency is sometimes measured in units called “negawatts,” and generating energy in this way is another opportunity to divert waste into profit (Opportunity 9).

      The opportunities could not be bigger for innovative businesses bringing greener energy to consumers. If you are an entrepreneur looking for the next big thing, this could be the field for you; the future is always open for innovators with visions of a bright future and the drive to make it happen.

       OPPORTUNITY 1 Training for Solar Workers