NREL's Industry Growth Forum Attracts Clean Energy Investors 25th Forum to Feature 30 Clean Energy Companies

News release:

NREL's Industry Growth Forum Attracts Clean Energy Investors

25th Forum to Feature 30 Clean Energy Companies

Monday, September 17, 2012

Thirty clean energy companies will present their business cases to a panel of investors and industry experts in Denver Oct. 23-24 as the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) hosts the 25th NREL Industry Growth Forum.

The 30 companies were selected through an application and review process and will compete for the 2012 NREL Clean Energy Venture Awards. NREL's Industry Growth Forum is one of the nation's premier clean energy investment forums. NREL's unique approach and interactive format make the forum a must-attend event for the clean energy business and investment community. Since 2003, presenting companies have raised more than $4 billion in investment.

 

In addition to the business case presentations, NREL's two-day forum will highlight clean energy technology and business developments with a comprehensive agenda of speakers and panels that will address the most important topics in the industry today.

 

"It's critical for us to create opportunities that connect the key players in the clean energy startup community"said Richard Adams, director of NREL's Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center, which organizes the forum. "We are bringing entrepreneurs directly together with financiers, policymakers and technology experts. By doing this we are laying the foundation for future conversations, partnerships and eventual business decisions that will strengthen the industry as a whole."

 

For more information, including the agenda, list of companies, list of sponsors and registration information see the 25th NREL Industry Growth Forum website at http://www.industrygrowthforum.org.

           

NREL is the U.S. Department of Energy's primary national laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. NREL is operated for DOE by The Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.

 

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May 14, 2012

National Association of Manufacturers Support Shaheen-Portman Energy Efficiency Legislation

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), the largest industrial trade association in the U.S., representing over 13,000 small, medium and large manufacturers, is supporting the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act (S. 1000), authored by U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and  Rob Portman (R-OH). The Shaheen-Portman bill would establish a national energy efficiency strategy to increase the use of existing energy efficiency technologies in the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors of our economy.

“S. 1000 is incentive-based, mandate-free legislation that enjoys broad support in the Senate and in the business community,” said Ross Eisenberg, NAM’s Vice President, Energy and Resources Policy in a letter to Shaheen and Portman. “This bipartisan legislation would positively impact manufacturing and construction jobs and increase the energy security of the United States by reducing overall energy consumption and I am hopeful it will soon be considered by the full Senate.”

“Technologies produced by U.S. companies that reduce energy consumption are readily available today, and S. 1000 reduces barriers to their implementation,” he added.

Introduced last May, the legislation has garnered national support from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and nearly 150 businesses, trade associations, and efficiency advocates. 

Last July, S. 1000 passed the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee with strong bipartisan support by a vote of 18 to 3.  Representatives Charles Bass (R-New Hampshire) and Jim Matheson (D-Utah) recently introduced similar legislation, the Smart Energy Act, in the House of Representatives.

Scientists Find Night-Warming Effect Over Large Wind Farms in Texas

For article on possible effects of wind farms on ground temperature published by the National Science Foundation, click the link below:

http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=123998&WT.mc_id=USNSF_51&WT.mc_ev=click

From the National Renewable Energy Laboratory

NREL Thinks Big at Wind Technology Center

Credit: Dennis Schroeder

Further technology improvements will be critical to the future of wind energy. Research at NREL is leading the way. Full story

From the U.S. Dept. of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL):

Lease Option Increases Rooftop Solar’s Appeal, Study Says Low Down Payment, Immediate Savings, Lure a New, Less Affluent Demographic Friday, January 20, 2012 Rooftop solar panels are attracting a new demographic of customers who are choosing to lease rather than buy, and enjoying the low upfront costs and immediate savings. The new third-party-lease business model lets homeowners save money the very first month, rather than breaking even a decade later after an initial investment of $10,000 or $20,000. Analysts with the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) found that the solar lease models are surging in southern California. And they're being adopted in less affluent neighborhoods that had few customer-owned systems. The NREL study, "The Transformation of Southern California's Residential Photovoltaics Market through Third-Party Ownership," is in the current edition of the journal Energy Policy. The study indicated an attraction for third-party leasing in neighborhoods with less affluence than those most likely to go for the customer-owned option. It found a positive correlation between customers outright buying solar energy systems and customers living in neighborhoods where the average household income was $150,000 or more. But with third-party-leased photovoltaic (PV) panels, that positive correlation appeared in neighborhoods where the average household income was just $100,000 or more. If what's true in southern California proves true for the nation, it means that rooftop solar power could prove tempting for an additional 13 million Americans who live in households that earn between $100,000 and $150,000 per year. "What is so interesting about the southern California data is that the strong decrease in PV prices – from lower retail costs and stronger federal incentives – didn't pick up a new demographic. But the new business model – leasing – did pick up a new customer demographic," NREL's Easan Drury, the lead author of the report, said. Repackaging the value of photovoltaics as a simple savings on the monthly bill is an attractive alternative to the pitch that it will pay for itself in a decade, he said. "If someone comes up to you and says you can make money next month and forever, that totally changes how people see the value of solar." Among Drury's other findings: Third-party leasing usually eliminates the need for home-equity-style financing and, thus, the need for significant equity in the home. Without the hurdle of financing, more people can adopt solar, Drury said.  Along with the lower income threshold, Drury found a surge in solar leasing in neighborhoods with younger families. In the Los Angeles and Orange county markets, customer-owned PV was five times more prevalent than third-party owned in 2009. In 2010, the ratio had dropped to 2 to 1. And for the first quarter of 2011, the ratio was almost even. Homeowners can put as little as $3,000 down and see an immediate drop in their electricity costs,  albeit that first year the drop may be just a couple dollars a month. The real benefits come over the next two decades, when the $40 or $50 per month they're paying to lease the solar panels stays constant, while, presumably, the cost of electricity goes up. Third-party companies are touting potential customer savings of $10,000 to $15,000 over two decades. NREL is the Department of Energy's primary national laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. NREL is operated for DOE by The Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC. ###