Q: You’ve been involved in startups since 1992 — in IT, light manufacturing and the service industry. How is renewable energy different from what you’ve worked on before?
A: It is more capital intensive. You have to spend a fair amount of money. To get a product to market is also slower moving. All technologies have to compete with the status quo, coal or natural gas. So you may have new technology, but that isn’t enough.
Q: The lifeblood for startups is venture capital. How has the recession and the flood of money that already has flowed into renewable energy — particularly solar — changed the game?
A: It feels like the venture-capital community has pushed the pause button on the entire solar-energy industry. There was a flood of money in 2007 and 2008. The venture-capital community is sitting on the sidelines. They are waiting to see what happens.
Q: Many people are waiting to see how the initial public stock offering fares for thin-film solar-panel maker Solyndra, which already has raised close to $1 billion in venture capital and loan guarantees. Will such a stock sale, be it strong or weak, determine the market for everyone else?
A: Solyndra’s IPO is important for the whole industry. If they stumble in their IPO, it is a bad sign for the solar industry. This happens to be the most high-profile venture-backed new technology in a couple of years. What you need is more merger and acquisition in the energy space.
Everyone is pretty religious about their technology; they have to realize everyone is selling energy. The lifeblood of a venture capitalist is the exit — acquisition is another path. More positive exits, either acquisitions or IPOs, and they will reinvest in the sector.
Edited for length and clarity by Mark Jaffe
