Seeing with 2020 vision in cleantech
5 trends that will make cleantech stand out this year
By Kristin Barbato, Founder & CEO, Build Edison
Anyone who has worked for a startup knows that time really flies. A lot can happen in a year, and the continued rapid growth of startups and new technologies will be critical to the future of the energy industry. As the energy sector constantly evolves, cleantechs are always stepping up to offer new and innovative solutions, and as we look ahead to 2020, they show no sign of slowing down. Here are five cleantech trends to watch in 2020:
1. Building efficiency will become increasingly unavoidable for real estate owners
The pressure continues to mount on building owners to realize more energy efficiency. With new regulations like New York City’s Local Law 97 that mandates a 40% reduction in building emissions by 2030 and 80% by 2050, efficiency solutions need to implemented. On top of regulator and political pressure, the financial opportunity of many of these solutions is largely untapped in an industry of historically thin spreads, and while replacing existing equipment will be the foundation for energy efficiency, there are a number of relatively unknown opportunities for owners to realize deep emissions cuts in their operations.
Cleantechs are offering simple yet powerful solutions to realize greater efficiency in buildings. Take BOSS Controls for example. BOSS’s technology enables the conversion of any building into a smart building through technology which manages load at the outlet level. Through the use of small, inexpensive, and easy to install intelligent control devices for HVAC, lighting, plug loads, and auxiliary equipment, building owners can very rapidly realize a return on their investment in energy savings.
2. Cleantech investors are innovating on financing
As the energy industry continues to evolve and grow rapidly, new capital is shifting toward cleantech solutions, and new financing strategies will need to be developed to deploy that capital as efficiently and profitably as possible. Numerous financial innovations have helped shape the industry over the past decade, including the creation of power purchase agreements (PPA), property assessed clean energy (PACE) financing, etc. but there is still work to be done in order to get the right capital to the right investments.
As I discussed in a recent blog on project finance for cleantechs, the industry will need to continue standardizing these financing tools to help more startups succeed and grow and help more investors to manage their risk effectively.
Demonstration projects present an opportunity not only for cleantechs, but for investors and conventional energy companies as well. There are billions of dollars in incentives available for scalable clean energy solutions that must start as demonstration projects.
Demonstration project finance will become a necessary instrument in ensuring the consistent growth of these new technologies, and in de-risking energy solutions and investments for the larger asset, venture capital, and private equity funds.
Infrastructure is a critical area in need of financing innovations, and companies like InfraShares are making investment opportunities more accessible to the everyday investor. While there will always be a need for large financial institutions to back major infrastructure projects, the rise of innovative new investing tools like crowdfunding will only expand the potential of the industry in the years ahead.
3. Small scale storage and solar can offer resiliency solutions
With PG&E’s forced blackouts still fresh in the minds of consumers and industry members, the need for resilient grid resources has never been more clear. This year, I anticipate that states will put forward new policies and programs to promote distributed generation and storage in order to improve the resiliency of the grid.
While the technology to support greater distributed generation and storage is already reaching maturity, policy, codes, and standards will now need to be developed in order to accelerate market adoption. Already in New York City, a coalition of battery companies, utilities, city agencies, and buildings experts are proactively coming together to address the safe installation and operation of building-level battery storage. Safer technologies such as Murata’s lithium iron phosphate (LFP) technology can offer an easy solution to many of the safety concerns associated with putting batteries in dense urban environments.
4. Zero emission transportation infrastructure
Thanks to the decarbonization efforts of renewable energy deployment and coal-to-gas switching in the power sector, the transportation sector is now the largest source of GHG emissions in the US. As zero emissions technologies become economically and technologically viable, 2020 will be all about doing more on zero emission vehicles everywhere.
As attention shifts to larger vehicles in the bus, trucking, and equipment segments, the question of optimizing existing grid infrastructure and building new capacity where necessary will be the story in 2020. I expect cities and utility territories across the country to engage in significant load planning for EVs. This will also necessitate innovative new financing models for new infrastructure and cleantech solutions that can help optimize charging and operations.
5. Growth in hydrogen
Is 2020 finally the year for hydrogen? It sure feels like the industry has been saying this for, well, decades. However, this year a real demand for hydrogen has clearly emerged. The potential of hydrogen as a zero-emission transportation and power generation fuel that can provide reliable and dispatchable power can no longer be ignored.
Of course, the challenge for hydrogen is scalability of production and delivery infrastructure. Many examples of roadmaps and visioning documents have been published on creating a robust hydrogen economy, while new and cleaner production methods like solar powered electrolysis offer compelling new solutions for hydrogen production.
Bonus Trend: Collaboration within the industry
Finally, one of the most exciting trends that I am looking forward to in 2020 is the incredible rise in collaboration that I am seeing across the energy industry. The energy transition poses many challenges to existing business models and new technologies offer just as many opportunities for the industry. With both come uncertainty, yet I am incredibly proud to see the number of stakeholders old and new who are stepping forward to collaborate rather than turning inward and away.
Dynamo Energy Hub is one example of a new platform that promises to enable that kind of collaboration and sharing across the industry. Dynamo is a new way for organizations and individuals within the energy sector to connect in a more meaningful way in a physical space based in NYC. As Dynamo prepares its official launch in 2020, I look forward to sharing more about this exciting new initiative very soon.
Thanks for reading and, as always, feel free to reach out to me with any comments and bright ideas.
At Build Edison, we have decades of experience in developing, managing, and financing demonstration projects across various clean energy technologies. We offer a number of solutions for startups, large companies, governments and investors to grow quickly and consistently, and to capitalize on one of the most exciting areas of the energy market.
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