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  • September 2002 (Revised March 2006)
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Environmental Power Corporation: Changing Manure Into Gold?

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Laure Mougeot Stroock
  • Format:Print
  • | Pages:28
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Abstract

In 2002, Environmental Power Corp. (EPC), a small company developing renewable energy projects, was attempting to commercialize its "digester," a facility that extracted methane from manure, reduced manure's environmental impact, and generated electricity. The company addressed two promising convergent markets: the farm waste management market and the renewable energy market. One of the main challenges was to put together a financial scheme that satisfied the conflicting interests of four groups of stakeholders: the farmers who lacked cash, the investors who distrusted the electricity trading business after the Enron scandal, the utilities who resisted long-term commitments to buy electricity, and the government who was reconsidering its agricultural and energy policies. The primary challenge is to provide a process that reduces animal waste pollution and at the same time provides a positive renewable energy source.

Keywords

Commercialization; Energy Generation; Renewable Energy; Environmental Sustainability; Investment; Projects; Wastes and Waste Processing; Corporate Finance; Business and Government Relations; Energy Industry

Citation

Goldberg, Ray A., and Laure Mougeot Stroock. "Environmental Power Corporation: Changing Manure Into Gold?" Harvard Business School Case 903-403, September 2002. (Revised March 2006.)
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About The Author

Ray A. Goldberg

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More from the Authors
  • Sage V Foods and Element Farms: Preparing for the Future of Controlled Environment Agriculture By: Ray A. Goldberg, Rachel Lee and Canning Malkin
  • Nestlé: The World's Largest Food Company Confronts Climate Change By: Ray A. Goldberg and Charlotte Tasker
  • WH Group and Smithfield Foods: Global Leadership During a Difficult Environment of Trade, Disease, and Sustainability By: Ray Goldberg and Rachel Lee
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