The Green Light

How impactful can a renewable energy nonprofit membership program be when it comes to the triple bottom line - people, profit & planet? According to American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE), over 75% of its 25 total women or BIPOC-owned cohort member companies have significantly grown their businesses as members of ACORE’s Accelerate Membership Program, a recipient last year of the groundbreaking Inclusive Energy Innovation Prize from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). In this Green Light episode, Catherine spoke with Constance Thompson, SVP of DEIJ at ACORE, about how companies like 548 Enterprise were able to receive funding from U.S. Bank as a result of their participation in ACORE’s program & why programs like this are key to building a more equitable, just & sustainable future for all.They also spoke about Constance’s transition into the renewable energy sector, her advice for others looking to do the same, & ACORE’s recent report, ‘Opportunities to Diversify the U.S. Renewable Energy Manufacturing Supply Chain,’ that ACORE recently published with support from Amazon Web Services (AWS) & BW Research. Constance also spoke about her involvement with Women of Renewable Industries and Sustainable Energy (WRISE) & why she encourages more women to take on speaking engagements through WRISE’s Speaker Bureau. Are you looking for your next role in climate tech? Join the largest growing network of cleantech professionals and be the first to know about when industry leading cleantech companies first post new job openings, from development to finance to marketing, by checking out our website: dylan-green.com/latest-jobs.

What does it take to found & lead a clean energy investment firm & tech company simultaneously? Catherine spoke with Uche C. Isiugo Jr., PhD, CEO & Founder of Infranergy & Managing Partner at Emerging Infrastructure Capital about this as well as how his upbringing and living on two continents influenced his entrepreneurial path in energy. They spoke about his prior experience outside the industry at Boeing, Chevron, & Citi, and how he transitioned within cleantech at NextEra Energy Resources & Key Capture Energy before launching his own companies.Uche was also named to the Forbes Next 1000 Honoree 2021 list, which celebrates bold & inspiring entrepreneurs, & included judges like Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Meta & Founder of Lean In & OptionB.Org; Reid Hoffman, Co-founder of LinkedIn & partner at Greylock; Carla Harris, Vice Chairman & Managing Director of Morgan Stanley; Asahi Pompey, President, GOLDMAN SACHS FOUNDATION & more. Are you looking for your next role in climate tech? Join the largest growing network of cleantech professionals and be the first to know about when industry leading cleantech companies first post new job openings, from development to finance to marketing, by checking out our website: dylan-green.com/latest-jobs.

Clean Energy Leadership Institute (CELI) grew its programming by 40% over the past 2 years. Clean energy fellowship & internship programs like these are critical to enable the industry to scale by educating & training new talent & connecting them with leaders in the industry. In this Green Light episode, Catherine spoke with Esther Morales, Executive Director of CELI, about the recent growth & shifts in their programming & the ways in which the organization is enhancing its focus on diversity, equity, inclusion & energy justice, including through its EDICT fellowship, a joint program offered by CELI, Elemental Excelerator & FutureMap. From working on Obama’s campaign, to working in the White House & for the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) & U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Esther has clearly brought a wealth of knowledge & experience to CELI. We are excited to see what more CELI will accomplish this year as a result of Esther’s leadership, as CELI’s fellowship & internship programs are needed now more than ever to help those from outside the industry transition into clean energy. Are you looking for your next role in climate tech? Join the largest growing network of cleantech professionals and be the first to know about when industry leading cleantech companies first post new job openings, from development to finance to marketing, by checking out our website: dylan-green.com/latest-jobs.

What is it like to lead one of the world’s largest energy storage integrators? Catherine spoke with Andrew Tang, Vice President of Energy Storage and Optimization at Wärtsilä Energy, about this & how, as a first generation Chinese immigrant, he opted to pursue a renewable energy career path over following his siblings’ footsteps with a medical career. They also spoke about how he broke into the clean energy industry, leveraging his experience at a utility, tech startups & within the telecom industry; how vital mentorship is, including through one of his mentors, Janice Lin; as well as about some of Wartsila’s exciting artificial intelligence projects. Are you looking for your next role in climate tech? Join the largest growing network of cleantech professionals and be the first to know about when industry leading cleantech companies first post new job openings, from development to finance to marketing, by checking out our website: dylan-green.com/latest-jobs.

hat does it take to break into the clean energy industry? Kate Henningsen went from being a corporate litigator with no energy experience to COO & Co-Founder of Arcadia, which now manages 1 GW of community solar & has 800 employees. In this Green Light episode, Catherine spoke with Kate about her transition into, & success within, cleantech, her advice for others looking to do the same, as well as about Arcadia’s acquisition of Urjanet & recent raise of $200M for its Arc platform. According to Canary Media Inc. Media, 99% of people who will be working in climate by 2030 haven’t begun yet. If you’re looking to start working in cleantech or are looking to level up your clean energy career, join the largest growing network of cleantech professionals and be the first to know about when industry leading cleantech companies first post new job openings, from development to finance to marketing, by checking out the jobs listed here: dylan-green.com/latest-jobs.

What does it take to start a hydropower company from the ground up? In this Green Light episode, Catherine spoke with Gia Schneider about this, what it was like to found Natel Energy with her brother & father, as well as their fish-safe hydropower projects with Apple in Oregon & MyHydro in Africa. Natel Energy has been featured by Bloomberg & Time & has been named to Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas 2022 list alongside several other innovative Breakthrough Energy Venture companies. Catherine thoroughly enjoyed speaking with Gia about the ways in which Natel is making it safer for fish to pass through hydropower turbines without compromising on power or efficiency, as well as hearing Gia’s insights on what leaders need to drive real change within climate tech.Are you looking for your next role in climate tech? Join the largest growing network of cleantech professionals and be the first to know about when industry leading cleantech companies first post new job openings, from development to finance to marketing, by checking out our website: dylan-green.com/latest-jobs.

How are artificial intelligence & digitization being leveraged to realize huge cost savings for growing wind turbine fleets? In this Green Light episode, Catherine spoke with Danielle Merfeld, VP & CTO of GE Renewable Energy, about this, how she went from winning science fairs across the country as a child with Air Force parents to receiving her PhD in Electrical Engineering & ultimately taking the helm for technology at GE Renewable Energy. They also spoke about how her most instrumental mentors did not have technical backgrounds, as well as what it takes to effectively drive technology across a wide range of renewable energy business units within a Fortune 500 company. Are you looking for your next role in climate tech? Join the largest growing network of cleantech professionals and be the first to know about when industry leading cleantech companies first post new job openings, from development to finance to marketing, by checking out our website: dylan-green.com/latest-jobs.

In this Green Light episode, Catherine spoke with her good friends, Abby Hopper & Erin Duncan, from SEIA - two of the incredible women behind the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act. They spoke about what it takes to succeed in their roles, what it was like behind the scenes to get the IRA across the finish line & what parts of the IRA they’re most excited about. Notably, Abby & Erin both came from other industries - legal/government & education/government affairs - & are prime examples of the immense benefits our industry serves to gain from those with non-clean energy backgrounds. Not only does our industry reap significant benefits from those that are from outside the industry, hiring leaders & experts from other industries is also the primary way we will increase overall net diversity in clean energy. Congrats again, Erin & Abby, on successfully transitioning into & excelling within clean energy, & thank you for all that you have done on behalf of our industry!Are you looking for your next role in climate tech? Join the largest growing network of cleantech professionals and be the first to know about when industry leading cleantech companies first post new job openings, from development to finance to marketing, by checking out our website: dylan-green.com/latest-jobs.

What does it take to lead sustainability initiatives for a Fortune 500 company like Microsoft? In this Green Light episode, Catherine speaks with Dawn James about this as well as her career journey from creating predictive models for water management to energy and sustainability strategy at Microsoft. They also speak about Microsoft’s latest sustainability initiatives, designed to cut its carbon emissions by more than half by 2030; Dawn’s work with Greentown Labs; & Diversity in Clean Energy (DiCE), an action based coalition involving Duke, Microsoft, T-Mobile & Kroger. Dawn also shares her insights on why self care & advocating for yourself are essential when it comes to progressing in your sustainability career.  Are you looking for your next role in climate tech? Join the largest growing network of cleantech professionals and be the first to know about when industry leading cleantech companies first post new job openings, from development to finance to marketing, by checking out our website: dylan-green.com/latest-jobs.

Congratulations, Ike Emehelu, on your new role as Partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP! Although Ike knew he wanted to be a lawyer from his earliest days in Nigeria, he never imagined he would get to work on two of the three largest onshore wind projects in the U.S. Focusing almost exclusively on renewable energy project finance since 2008, Ike has worked on impactful projects throughout Africa, Latin America & the US, including through the Energy Access Relief Fund, which provided support to energy entrepreneurs facing liquidity challenges due to COVID-19. In this Green Light episode, Catherine speaks with Ike about his career journey in clean energy as well as the key trends that he thinks will make or break renewable energy in M&A in the coming years.Are you looking for your next role in climate tech? Join the largest growing network of cleantech professionals and be the first to know about when industry leading cleantech companies first post new job openings, from development to finance to marketing, by checking out our website: dylan-green.com/latest-jobs.