I spent last week in Silicon Valley, literally bumping elbows with some of the smartest people in the finance business. I heard from Vinod Khosla and Steve Westly, pioneers of Sun Microsystems and eBay, respectively. And I personally spoke to John Doerr, who was in on the venture level of companies like Compaq, Amazon.com, Intuit, and Google. Now that the Internet is maturing — and these men have walked away with billions — they're turning to cleantech.You see, all these billionaires know that clean energy is the next great profit frontier. And they aren't ashamed of it. They know a fortune can be made while doing something that benefits humanity
and the planet. Over the next few weeks, I'll share some of the insights I gained by listening to what they had to say. Today, we'll start with a recap of John Doerr's thoughts on the cleantech industry.
"It's More Clear Every Day"
That's what Doerr had to say about this statement: Cleantech is the largest economic opportunity of the 21st century.
And here's how he backed it up...
The billionaire venture capitalist likens cleantech to the Internet. Only, he says, the Internet is a $1 trillion industry serving 1.2 billion people... while energy is a $6 trillion industry serving 4 billion people.
So cleantech has the chance to be at least 4 times bigger than the Internet.
The Last Great Network
Think of it like this: Clean energy really has the chance to be the last great network.
Railroads were first, followed by the highway system. Then came phone, cable, and electricity transmission networks. All followed by the Internet.
But cleantech — through the smart grid — is becoming the next great network. Homes and neighborhoods will be linked together through smart networks and devices... all talking to the utility... providing real-time data allowing for the easier introduction of renewably-produced resources.
And fortunes will be made as it happens. That's why these mega-investors are foaming at the mouth.
Thing is, there are still a few hurdles remaining. Doerr did his best to identify them and provide ideas for how to overcome them.
An Environment that Fosters Innovation
According to Doerr, the main hurdle facing cleantech is its capital intensity. He said it took $25 million and 3 years to bring Google to an initial public offering (IPO). Compare that to Bloom Energy, a Doerr-backed fuel cell company. Bloom has already gobbled up $250 million and seven years.
