Benjamin Kanner ’12Journal 1
My summer fellowship is a very early stage venture, and I only found out the proposed name a few days before I began. Qualitative Alternatives will aggregate and analyze operating data on renewable energy projects in the United States. The objective of this business is to evaluate which projects, technologies, developers, and locations are most cost-effective and most impactful, as measured by the Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE). The actual cost of renewable electricity generation is unclear, as is the relative impact of the different project types, technologies, locations, and developers. Supporters of renewables are making decisions based on theoretical guesses, rather than actual operating data. Qualitative Alternatives will strive to support action on climate change by improving the information available to policy makers, developers, and investors focused on renewable energy, while simultaneously earning a profit.
Over the summer, our small team will work to determine data sources for the cost of renewable energy projects. We will also evaluate potential clients, data users, and business models within the United States, and, if time allows, in countries outside of the United States. By the end of the summer, we hope to determine whether data on renewable energy projects can be sourced, the optimal business model for sourcing data, and to have data for an initial database. Our overall objective is to answer the question, “Is this business venture viable?”
On my start day on June 1, I was the only full-time analyst — another one of the analysts will be working three days a week, a third will start in two weeks, and the fourth will come in mid-July. After an initial debrief, we dove directly into data mining. The decision was made to focus on public sources of data first, before tapping into our personal contacts and networks. Due to our limited understanding of the energy generation industry, we initially mapped out how various public and private players interact, to identify where we may find data sources. Over the first few days, we had some very significant successes. There were highs, when we came across great sources of data, and then lows, when we hit dead ends. Overall, we determined that there are large amounts of energy generation data in the public domain. Since we had some data and also a list of projects across the country, our IT team member created a website with an interactive map. It is great to already see the fruits of our labor in a test product.
I am enjoying start-up life, which is so vastly different from the corporate world in which I resided before business school. Every day is full of new challenges and I have a great deal of autonomy. In this position, I am just as knowledgeable as any of my coworkers, and as one of the only full-timers, I am a key player, which gives me a good understanding of the next steps to take in this quickly evolving venture. My opinions are also asked for, listened to, and highly valued.
Journal 2
Over the past few weeks, we mapped out the energy industry in the United States, from what players are involved in its generation, transmission, sale, and regulation, to the renewable energy credit market. Through these various avenues, we have been able to identify and uncover a vast amount of information on both the quantitative (energy generation) and qualitative (project characteristics) aspects of national and international renewable energy projects. Our IT team member made vast improvements to our beta site, which had many worldwide projects that required data analysis and segmentation. Previously, this data was siloed, messy, byzantine, difficult to correlate, and sometimes inconsistent. Inputting the data can be very tedious at times, and we realized we will need to “scrub” almost every project individually, to make sure data from various sources is matching up correctly.
I have learned a tremendous amount about the renewable energy industry already, which was one of my major goals for the summer. I have also learned a great deal about what it takes to nurture an idea into a functioning company, and even the technical aspects behind websites and web interfaces, of which I had no previous knowledge. Over the next few weeks, we will dive more deeply into thinking through business models and how to monetize the business.
Journal 3
After mapping the energy industry in the United States, gathering a large amount of production and cost data on renewable energy projects, and successfully creating a beta site, we spent the last few weeks soliciting feedback from a group of potential customers. It has been very beneficial to have a product, which looks quite good, to put in front of small focus groups of possible clients and industry leaders. We are able to have much more meaningful conversations, because instead of describing an idea with a PowerPoint presentation, potential clients are able to see what we can do.
Through these conversations, we have gained a tremendous amount of insight into what our potential market views as valuable. We have learned that utility-scale projects may not be at the core of our business, and distributed generation may be where we can have the most impact and add the most value. We also gained a great deal of insight into the future of financing structures, and how we may be able to bring these financial instruments into the renewable industry. Some of the conversations have been slightly disheartening: a product we believe has great value is not always received warmly by potential clients or key industry players. However, this has been personally edifying as well, as I have seen firsthand the trials and tribulations of start-ups and the necessity to be malleable in the face of adversity.
Overall, this summer has been an outstanding experience. I have learned a tremendous amount about the renewable energy industry, been able to personally work on building a company from the ground up, made invaluable contacts, and had the opportunity to work with and learn from terrific people.
