15.366  Energy Ventures

2015 CleanTech Challenge - Apply by Friday (1/17)

EVers,

Hope you all had a nice holiday break. Passing along information on a cleantech business plan competition. Deadline is Friday - only requires a 200-word concept statement.

LBS & UCL - Cleantech Challenge 2015 - GBP10,000 Grand Prize - First Round Deadline - January 17

The CleanTech Challenge is a student competition jointly hosted by London Business School and University College London, where students from top business and engineering schools compete in cross-functional teams. The objective of the Challenge is to identify and reward innovative clean technology ideas that have been taken from a concept phase to a stage in which they would ideally attract Series A funding or otherwise be self-sustainable.

The Challenge is a 3-stage competition that runs from November through to April. Participants receive guidance, feedback and mentorship from industry professionals throughout the Challenge. 10 finalist teams compete in live “Boot Camp” finals in London for a chance to win £10,000 in cash!

The first round deadline includes a 200-word concept submission. Candidates may submit multiple entries at this stage. The deadline for the first round is January 17, 2015.

For more information, please visit:
http://www.cleantechnologychallenge.com/cleantech/#

For any questions, please email info@cleantechnologychallenge.com​ or rgupta.mba2016@london.edu.

Announced on 13 January 2015  8:54  p.m. by Richard B Ashenfelter

Business Plan Feedback & Other Announcements

EVers,

Feedback on your business plans is now available for your review. I will be at the Trust Center in the War Room on Friday morning from 9 AM to 12 PM with hard copies of the feedback. Please send at least one member of your team if you would like to review the notes or scan for the rest of your team (professors would like to hold onto the originals).

If you haven't already done so, please join the official Energy Ventures Alumni group on LinkedIn. Join here! https://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=1501217

And finally - see below about a new energy-related course being offered this spring. Might be of interest to many of you.

Thanks for an awesome semester. Keep in touch!

Ricky

15.S05 Energy Efficiency and Smart Grid Strategies for a Sustainable Future (H1 Only – 6 credits 1:00 – 2:30 Tuesday and Thursday)

I’m pleased to join the faculty at Sloan – and the opportunity to extend prior MIT Environmental Planning teaching and research, and as well apply my entrepreneurial experiences as founder of two pioneering companies: one in building energy efficiency services, and the second in smart grid-related analytic software serving utilities and their home and business customers.
15.S05 Energy Efficiency and Smart Grid Strategies for a Sustainable Future explores energy efficiency and demand management, and especially approaches that involve intelligent buildings, grids, electric vehicles, cities, and people. While now a $25 billion field, energy efficiency and demand management is on the cusp of dramatic expansion and transition, as climate solutions require building energy - 70% of all electric use - to dramatically reduce and as well, to modulate in a manner that stabilizes an electric grid increasingly powered by intermittent solar and wind energy. Managing building energy is a great business opportunity, but study in this arena also serves as a case in designing business models for a market that will increasingly reward responsiveness to a carbon-constrained economic future. During the six week class, we will assess what works, as well as where innovation is needed, regarding:

- How new approaches to financing, technology, services, feedback and ICT can be applied to intelligent efficiency solutions,
- The potential for consumer benefits: value, comfort, technology, trust, simplicity, resilience, public recognition.
- The economic and regulatory policy landscape, including new revenue streams including grid incentives for demand-responsive load, and new EPA clean air rules that require fossil power plants to seek carbon offsets.
- The opportunity for new business models, and as well how established companies interested smart energy are approaching the market; including CISCO, Apple, Tesla; building-to-grid companies, such as EnerNOC and Schneider; smart energy companies such as Opower and Nest; and building energy management companies such as AMERESCO, Winn Development and Next Step Living.
- Societal and political considerations of sustainability, equity and local values – including benefit-cost determination from a regulatory perspective as well as case studies of smart and sustainable city initiatives.

Students may apply their related studies and prior experiences, and all should bring active interest to participate fully in the class. In addition to readings, class members will respond to exploratory questions with two short papers and discussion, and offer a short class presentation on a topic of foundational interest. Several guests from the businesses noted, as well as government and utility, will be invited to discuss their approach – at convenient times for class members, typically in the evening.

A syllabus will be available shortly, but please contact me regarding your interests and questions: these are appreciated and very welcome. If you would like to discuss in person, I’m happy to and look forward to meeting you.

Harvey Michaels
______ _________
Harvey Michaels
Lecturer - Energy Efficiency Strategy
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Sloan Center for Collective Intelligence
NE-25, 5 Cambridge Center, room 756
Cambridge, MA 02139
617-253-2084 cell: 508-740-9233 hgm@mit.edu
http://web.mit.edu/energy-efficiency/

Announced on 10 December 2014  9:47  p.m. by Richard B Ashenfelter

Peer Review Survey - DUE TUESDAY BY 12 PM ET

EVers,

Please take a moment to complete the peer review survey for your teammates and their contributions to your group assignments:

http://goo.gl/forms/9RpolfzDLd

This should only take a minute or two. Due Tuesday 12/9 at 12 PM ET.

Thanks!
Ricky

Announced on 07 December 2014  11:10  p.m. by Richard B Ashenfelter

Course evaluation - feedback wanted!

EVers,

Before we head off to our end-of-semester party, please complete the subject evaluation for 15.366:

http://web.mit.edu/subjectevaluation

The professors find this feedback incredibly helpful for incorporating into future iterations of the course.

Thanks!
Ricky

Announced on 04 December 2014  5:06  p.m. by Richard B Ashenfelter

Tomorrow's Class & End of Semester Party

EVers,

Tomorrow is the last class of the semester. We will meet at normal time in 32-124 for the first 90 minutes and then head to Area Four for food and drinks to celebrate the successful conclusion of the class!

Class Agenda:

5:05 to 6:00 - Team presentations
6:00 to 6:10 - Closing remarks
6:10 to 6:25 - Course evaluations
6:25 to 6:30 - Migrate to Area Four
6:30 to 8:00 - End of semester party

Each team will be given approx. 7 minutes to speak to the class. Teams should plan to give an abridged 4-5 minute pitch of their business, followed by 2-3 minutes of reflection on the team's journey through the semester (e.g. biggest lessons learned, pivots, technology's readiness, and plans/next steps for beyond the class). No need to prepare a new deck; I can display what you submit for the final presentations this week.

Please bring your laptops so that you can complete class evaluations before the party.

Area Four is located at 500 Technology Square (4 minute walk from Stata). We will have a private room for the class to mix and mingle. Food will be covered by MIT; you will be responsible for beverages. We get kicked out of the room at 8 PM!

Till tomorrow...
Ricky

Announced on 03 December 2014  2:43  p.m. by Richard B Ashenfelter