Exploring a post from the Innovation Policy Blog: A Note to Joe Romm and Tom Friedman: Sorry, we need an RD&D, RD&D, Deploy, RD&D, RD&D, Deploy Clean

I really enjoyed reading this blog post issued earlier this month by Matthew Stepp, a blogger on energy issues for Innovation Policy (tagline: Innovation is not a partisan issue). He is a research analyst with the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation and specializes in climate change and clean energy policy. His research interests include clean energy technology development, climate science policy development, transportation policy, and the role innovation has in economic growth.

In his very well-written post, he challenges Joe Romm of Climate Progress and The New York Times’ Tom Friedman in their assertions that our country should put most of our time, effort, policy and public dollars into rapidly deploying as much existing clean technology as possible — because that’s how we’re going to cut carbon emissions — and that we not focus so much on “RD&D,” research, development and demonstration.

“The problem with this approach,” writes Stepp, “is that it ignores that clean energy is not cost-competitive with fossil fuels in most circumstances without significant government support, and won’t be (competitive) without RD&D…. “

He went on to write: “I absolutely agree with the need for action. Climate change is a dangerous problem that we are decades behind in addressing. And we should pick as much ‘low-hanging fruit’ as we can in the meantime to lower emissions and buy us some time, like building out energy-efficiency, limiting non-carbon greenhouse gases, and aggressively pursuing resiliency efforts. But we have to recognize that trying to build out uncompetitive clean technologies through just regulations and subsidies is not a solution.”

His blog attracted nine comments, all on the same day, written by Alan Nogee, a clean energy consultant; James A. Lewis, another Innovation Policy contributor; Tyler Bryant, an energy policy analyst with the David Suzuki Foundation; and Jesse Jenkins of the Breakthrough Institute. Each has a unique take on the balance that must be struck between RD&D and deployment. Ultimately they seemed to agree that both have to take place simultaneously in order for serious progress to be made. If this issue interests you, the blog and its comments are well worth a read.

Announcing a new blog by the Northwest Energy Angels, investors in regional "cleantech" ventures

As an MBA student intern at Northwest Energy Angels, I have helped to create a new blog for the organization. The blog, titled Cleantech Investor Insight, formally launched today.

The Northwest Energy Angels is a membership organization of Pacific Northwest private, accredited investors who focus their investments on regional “cleantech” ventures. When it was formed in 2006, it was the first early-stage investment group in the United States to focus exclusively on cleantech industries.

While this blog topic may seem to depart a bit from the focus of my own blog, it actually doesn’t: A number of the technologies that the Angels have funded are, in fact, being used in community based conservation and renewable energy production programs.

The Angels’ goal is to add value for entrepreneurs and help make ventures profitable for both management and investors. The cleantech industry lies at the intersection of their desire to make successful angel investments, their personal values and the world they want to leave our children. Most Angel members place a high value on sustainability, the ecosystems that support life on earth, and social responsibility. They are passionate about fueling growth in the Pacific Northwest economy.

“The Northwest Energy Angels are the most serious, thoughtful and cohesive energy angel group in the country,” says Nancy Floyd, Angel Advisory Council member and the founder and managing director of the venture capital firm Nth Power.

The group includes seasoned angel investors and venture capitalists, as well as new angels learning by participating in a cooperative and supportive environment. The Angels empower members by providing them with tools for successful angel investing provided by a business network of investors, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, executives, scientists, engineers, bankers and attorneys, and also by providing high-quality deal flow, cooperative due diligence and relevant, timely education. To date, members have invested about $5.5 million in 32 companies.

Distributed Energy: Exploring a website and its publications

Today I spent a chunk of time exploring a website titled: The Journal of Energy Efficiency and Reliability, which I found by doing a search for distributed energy blogs. The site and its journal offer the following:

Get the latest information on state-of-the-art energy efficiency, reliability and onsite power installations. Distributed Energy – The Journal of Energy Efficiency and Reliability reaches more than 20,000 subscribers. Published seven times annually, Distributed Energy addresses the concerns of the readers regarding the vulnerability of their operations and facilities to power interruptions and explores solutions for increasing energy self-reliance.

This is a very cool find for someone like me, who is learning a lot about local energy initiatives and energy independence. The site, published by Forester Media, which is the publishing arm of Forester University in Santa Barbara, CA, seems to take a variety of angles in their content, going from the technical, to public policy and regulation here and overseas, to local programs and success stories.

I must say that I am befuddled by the fact that none of the featured weekly blogs by DE Editor Elizabeth Cutright or by other DE featured bloggers has been commented on. If, in fact, what Tom Osdoba said at Net Impact last fall is true (see my earlier post) — that by the year 2020, 45 percent of renewable energy in this country will come from distributed sources — where’s the buzz? Why aren’t environmentalists, entrepreneurs and elected officials all over a site like this, sharing and dissecting products, ideas, policies and initiatives? Perhaps its time hasn’t come yet….