February Cleantech Roundup: Tesla in the Red, Green New Deal, Blue Sky Technology
Clean Energy Trust’s cleantech roundup highlights interesting cleantech news and perspective, from policy changes to technology updates and investment news.
Tesla Is Closing All its Stores So You Can Have a $35K Model 3 (Axios Generate) — Tesla announced it is closing its physical stores to lower its SG&A and sell the Tesla Model 3 at $35k. As part of the announcement, Telsa also noted layoffs related to these store closures and noted that they would continue to operate in the red (ie not profitable) this quarter. I may be reading too much into editorial decisions at Axios, but I think this is an example of Tesla’s extremely unusual relationship with the press. Are there any other businesses that could shut down a major piece of their operations because they are hemorrhaging cash and it could be construed as a gift? Tesla selling the Model 3 at $35k is just the price they previously announced, it is not like they are giving them away for free.
10 Breakthrough Technologies 2019 (MIT Technology Review) — The MIT Technology Review asked Bill Gates to choose this year’s list of inventions that will change the world for the better. 3 of those technologies relate to cleantech — “new wave nuclear power” (small modular nuclear), “the cow-free burger” (lab-grown and plant-based meat alternatives), and “Carbon dioxide catcher” (direct air capture of carbon dioxide). Of these, I think the cow-free burger has the greatest potential for impact. While I think small modular nuclear and direct CO2 air capture will both play some role eventually, I think meat alternatives will have a huge impact in the next 10 years. Some of this impact may be in response to climate, but I’m more interested in what happens when egg, chicken, and ground beef substitutes are cheaper than the natural versions of the products and are in the same ballpark on taste. Once that happens, I expect a noticeable portion of the foodservice industry (school lunches, cafeterias, frozen dinners, airplane food, etc…) to switch over very quickly. Side note — I always thought sausage tasted like meat. Upon trying some meat alternatives, turns out sausage taste approximately like fennel, oil, and salt.
Nine Key Questions About the Green New Deal (New York Times) — The Green New Deal resolution was recently introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. It is important to note that is specifically a resolution, as opposed to legislation, which is one reason people have a poor grasp on what is actually being proposed. A resolution doesn’t have the specificity of legislation — by design, it is more of a set of goals or priorities, which can be useful for debate but can also be more difficult to estimate a price tag for.
That said, we do know that it prioritizes a transition to 100% carbon-free electricity over the next 10 years along with a number of other energy and climate-related provisions, such as promoting energy efficiency and the expansion of both electric vehicle infrastructure and high-speed rail. It also includes other policy ideas that are not as connected to energy and climate (a jobs guarantee, universal healthcare, etc…).
Follow this link to read the rest of What Does the Green New Deal Mean for Energy Policy and Cleantech?
Ernest Moniz and Dan Yergin on the 10 Energy Technologies We Should Prioritize (Axios) — Former Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and IHS Markit’s Dan Yergin are out with a new report on energy innovation, commissioned by Breakthrough Energy Coalition. It is framed as an attempt to provide a framework for investing in clean energy innovation and identifies key technology areas as well as policy recommendations — you can access the full report here. While the areas identified in the report are broad, they are also fairly comprehensive — The 10 high-priority clean energy innovation areas from the report are:
- Storage and battery technologies
- Advanced nuclear reactors
- Hydrogen
- Advanced manufacturing technologies
- Building energy technologies
- Electric grid modernization and smart cities
- Large-scale carbon management
- Carbon capture, use, and storage
- Sunlight to fuels
- Biological sequestration
For Further Reading:
These publications and newsletters are what I typically pay attention to and are great sources for cleantech and investing news.
Energy:
- GreenTech Media — Good source for news and analysis on all kinds of clean energy.
- Axios’ Generate — Daily energy news roundup, with coverage that includes (but is not limited to) federal goings-on
- The Energy Gang Podcast — weekly cleantech news digest podcast produced by Greentech Media
Investing and Technology:
- Axios’ Pro Rata — Weekday morning newsletter by Dan Primack
- Money Stuff — Weekday opinion piece from Matt Levine at Bloomberg on finance
- Benedict’s Newsletter — Ben Evans’ weekly summary of interesting tech and investing news, along with his own interesting takes
- A VC — Blog by Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures — lots of interesting commentary on venture investing in general, and blockchain in particular
