Greentech Panel with VCs, IBs and the Law

A quick look at the state of the greentech industry

Eric Wesoff February 02, 2010

Eric Wesoff

Editor-at-Large
Greentech Media

Eric Wesoff is Editor-at-Large at Greentech Media. Prior to joining GTM, Eric Wesoff founded Sage Marketing Partners in 2000 to provide sales and marketing-consulting services to venture-capital firms and their portfolio companies in the alternative energy and telecommunications sectors. Mr. Wesoff has become a well-known, respected authority and speaker in these fields.

His expertise covers solar power, fuel cells, biofuels and advanced batteries. His strengths are in market research and analysis, business development and due diligence for investors. He frequently consults for energy startups and Silicon Valley's premier venture capitalists.

I moderated a Greentech Panel in Santa Clara, CA on Friday the 29th that was hosted and organized by the FountainBlue organization.

We were taking a quick look at the state of the greentech industry.

The panelists:

Dan Adler, President, California Clean Energy Fund
Matt Maloney, Head of Relationship Management, Silicon Valley Bank
Tim Woodward, Managing Director, Nth Power
Laurie Yoler, Managing Director, GrowthPoint Technology Partners
Elise Zoli, Partner and Chair, Energy Practice, Goodwin Procter

Here are some random notes from these smart panelists:

Overcooked sectors in cleantech

Microinverters (Woodward)
Carbon accounting, maybe not over-invested, just premature (Adler)

Overlooked sectors in cleantech

Water (Zoli)
Nuclear (Zoli)
Energy storage at grid-scale (Woodward)
Waste Energy (It's one of our favorite forms of energy here.)

Energy policies that could be improved

Improved transmission technology and policy (Yoler)
Pricing incentives -- removing current subsidies on imported oil and an effective cap and trade program (Yoler)
Better administration of loan guarantee -- DOE must get out of its own way (Maloney)
Better deployment mechanisms -- large-scale infrastructure for renewables (Adler)
Better deployment mechanisms at the consumer level -- access to alternative fuels (Adler)
Better methods of getting technology out of the labs (Zoli)

Highlights of the companies the panelists are associated with

CSP player Brightsource Energy teaming with Bechtel (Adler)
Rooftop CPV start-up Soliant gaining a new CEO from Evergreen Solar (Woodward)
Silicon ink vendor Innovalight making the (smart) strategic change in business plan to be a materials supplier and not a module manufacturer (Maloney)