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We document three facts related to innovation and entrepreneurship in renewable energy. Using data from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, we...
- April 2021 (Revised July 2021)
- Case
Public Equities Impact Investing at BlackRock
By: Shawn A. Cole, Vikram S. Gandhi, Michael Norris and John Masko
In early 2021, BlackRock—the world’s largest asset manager with $9 trillion in assets under management (AUM)—sought to become a leader in promoting environmental and social sustainability. Over the previous ten years, CEO Larry Fink had written an annual open letter to...
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Keywords:
Impact Investing;
Renewable Energy;
Climate Change;
Environmental Sustainability;
Equity;
Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact;
Financial Management;
Investment Funds;
Investment Return;
Mission and Purpose;
Organizational Change and Adaptation;
Financial Services Industry;
United States
- March 2021 (Revised April 2021)
- Case
Making Impact Investing Markets: IFC (A)
By: Shawn A. Cole, John Masko and T. Robert Zochowski
In 2017, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) faced the first big investment decision in its new Scaling Solar project. Founded in 1956, IFC was an international investment body with national governments as shareholders, whose mission was to promote economic...
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Keywords:
Impact Investing;
Development Economics;
Developing Countries and Economies;
Renewable Energy;
Climate Change;
Environmental Sustainability;
Borrowing and Debt;
Credit;
Equity;
Bonds;
Financing and Loans;
Growth and Development;
Emerging Markets;
Non-Governmental Organizations;
Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact;
Investment;
Decision Making;
Energy Industry;
Energy Industry;
Zambia
- March 2021 (Revised May 2021)
- Case
M-KOPA: Empowering Lives
By: V. Kasturi Rangan, Wale Lawal and Pippa Tubman Armerding
The Pay As You Go solar power company in East Africa had sales of $71 million in 2019. It wished to grow to $300 million by 2025. M-KOPA, founded by three entrepreneurs in 2011, had grown nicely in Kenya and Uganda to reach nearly 750,000 households with an...
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- February 2021
- Case
Yellow Digital Retailers, Ltd.: Providing Solar Electricity to Transform Rural Africa
By: Lynda M. Applegate, Frank V. Cespedes and Michael Norris
In 2020, Mike Heyink and Maya Stewart, co-founders of the Pay-as-you-Go Solar company Yellow were considering how to grow their startup. They had achieved some success in their first market, Malawi, and had recently entered Uganda, where business was slower. What did...
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- November 2020
- Case
Holaluz: Taking on the Spanish Energy Market
By: Elie Ofek, Marco Bertini, Oded Koenigsberg, Elena Corsi and Emer Moloney
In 2020, the three cofounders of Holaluz, a newcomer to Spain’s electricity retail market, are preparing to launch a new offering: installing and managing solar panels on households' roofs at no extra cost for the consumer, who would still benefit from the energy...
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- October 2020
- Case
1366 Technologies: Surviving in a Fast Changing World
- September 2020 (Revised November 2020)
- Case
d.light
By: Michael Chu, Krishna G. Palepu and Dilyana Karadzhova Botha
Kenyan off-grid-solar pioneer d.light can power entire homes in rural Africa but must now decide how to fund the growth of its asset-heavy business model. Ned Tozun and Sam Goldman founded d.light in 2006 to transform lives through solar solutions enabling access to...
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- July 2020
- Case
CSL Capital Management: Patriot Proppants (A)
By: Victoria Ivashina and Yury Kapko
This two-part case series follows CSL Capital’s 2009 investment in the greenfield manufacturing company, Patriot Proppants. CSL, a recently established investment firm, employs a unique investment model, funding new ("green field") energy service businesses that serve...
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- July 2020
- Supplement
CSL Capital Management: Patriot Proppants (B)
By: Victoria Ivashina and Yury Kapko
This two-part case series follows CSL Capital’s 2009 investment in the greenfield manufacturing company, Patriot Proppants. CSL, a recently established investment firm, employs a unique investment model, funding new ("greenfield") energy service businesses that serve...
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- Guest Column
Who's Afraid of 100%?
By: Jurgen Weiss
The articles describes 100% renewable/clean energy systems and argues that they may be less costly and easier to achieve than is often argued in the industry.
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- February 2020 (Revised March 2020)
- Case
Prime Coalition: Catalytic Capital for Climate Innovation
By: Ramana Nanda, Benjamin N. Roth and Olivia Hull
With long development timelines and high risk, new energy technologies were often left to languish in the “valley of death,” unable to raise enough funds to bring a product to market. In 2014, Sarah Kearney founded the nonprofit Prime Coalition to solve this problem....
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Keywords:
Energy Conservation;
Renewable Energy;
Social Entrepreneurship;
Venture Capital;
Investment;
Innovation and Invention;
Technological Innovation;
Mission and Purpose;
Science-Based Business;
Nonprofit Organizations;
Social Enterprise;
Energy Industry;
Energy Industry;
Energy Industry;
United States
- January 2020
- Background Note
Climate Change in 2020: Implications for Business
By: Rebecca M. Henderson, Sophus A. Reinert and Mariana Oseguera
This note provides general information about climate change and its implications for business. Included is an overview of climate change science and a number of its impacts, including rising sea levels, changing weather patterns and extreme weather, pressure on water...
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Keywords:
Climate Change;
Environmental Accounting;
Agribusiness;
Economic Growth;
Energy Conservation;
Energy Generation;
Renewable Energy;
Energy Sources;
Non-Renewable Energy;
Globalized Markets and Industries;
National Security;
Government Legislation;
Operations;
Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact;
Problems and Challenges;
Risk and Uncertainty;
Natural Disasters;
Natural Environment;
Environmental Sustainability;
Pollutants;
Science-Based Business;
Weather;
Society;
Technology
- 2 Dec 2019
- Other Presentation
Increasing Solar Power
By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and Abby Hopper
Is increasing solar power the answer? Abby Hopper, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association, and Professor Joe Lassiter discuss how to deliver reliable, clean, low cost power for people everywhere.
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- Guest Column
Decarbonizing Economy Requires Lot More Electricity: Big Ramp-ups in Solar, Wind Power Are Needed
By: Jurgen Weiss
The column summarizes the findings of a report prepared for the Coalition for Community Solar Access, which concludes that to achieve New England's 2050 economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions reductions goals would require increasing the annual deployments of new...
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- September 2019
- Case
Shell: A Company of Opportunity?
By: Joseph B. Fuller and Emer Moloney
The Opportunity Hub was a cloud-based platform that enabled managers to market projects they were working on and associated resourcing needs as “Opportunity Owners” and employees, or “Opportunity Seekers,” to browse these statements of need and engage when they had...
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Keywords:
Business Divisions;
Change Management;
Competency and Skills;
Experience and Expertise;
Talent and Talent Management;
Energy;
Energy Sources;
Non-Renewable Energy;
Renewable Energy;
Human Resources;
Employees;
Retention;
Collaborative Innovation and Invention;
Innovation and Management;
Innovation Strategy;
Technological Innovation;
Jobs and Positions;
Job Design and Levels;
Knowledge Sharing;
Knowledge;
Knowledge Use and Leverage;
Labor;
Human Capital;
Labor Unions;
Leading Change;
Resource Allocation;
Organizational Change and Adaptation;
Performance Evaluation;
Performance Productivity;
Strategic Planning;
Projects;
Motivation and Incentives;
Business Strategy;
Social and Collaborative Networks;
Technology Platform;
Energy Industry;
Energy Industry;
Energy Industry;
Energy Industry;
United Kingdom;
Netherlands
- September 2019
- Case
Clean Energy for the Future
By: Richard H.K. Vietor and Howaida Kamel
This is an industry note on renewable energy – wind, solar, governmental incentives and storage. It covers the recent history of both the wind and solar industries, an extensive look at governmental policies in the United States, including the Green New Deal, and...
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- May 2019
- Case
Elon Musk's Big Bets Update, 2019
By: David B. Yoffie and Daniel Fisher
This short case provides an update to Elon Musk's strategy and tactical moves with Tesla, Solar City, and SpaceX from 2016-2019.
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Keywords:
Electric Vehicles;
Batteries;
Solar Power;
Execution;
Space Flight;
Tesla;
SolarCity;
SpaceX;
Elon Musk;
Technology;
Risk and Uncertainty;
Expansion;
Renewable Energy;
Strategy;
Investment;
Manufacturing Industry;
Green Technology Industry;
Auto Industry;
Aerospace Industry;
Battery Industry
- January 2019 (Revised December 2019)
- Case
CrossBoundary Energy
By: John Macomber
Almost 500 million people are without electricity in sub-Saharan Africa. Governments and public utilities are challenged to bring generation and distribution to most of them. Considerable promise exists in “off-grid” or “mini-grid” technologies, notably using renewable...
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Keywords:
Energy Investing;
Economic Development;
Renewable Energy;
Business Growth and Maturation;
Developing Countries and Economies;
Project Finance;
Emerging Markets;
Industry Structures;
Infrastructure;
Segmentation;
Private Equity;
Decision Choices and Conditions;
Energy Industry;
Energy Industry;
Africa;
Tanzania;
Ghana
- December 2018 (Revised May 2019)
- Case
Darling Ingredients International
By: David E. Bell and Natalie Kindred
Led by CEO Randall Stuewe, Texas-based Darling Ingredients International was a rendering firm with $3.7 billion in 2017 revenues. Since 2003, Darling had transformed from U.S. focused into a global player in the processing of biological waste from meat and foodservice...
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Keywords:
Darling;
Ingredients;
Stuewe;
Rendering;
Animal Byproducts;
Used Cooking Oil;
UCO;
Diamond Green Diesel;
DGD;
Valero;
Renewable Diesel;
Biofuel;
Recycling;
Carbon;
LCFS;
Blend;
Blender;
Strategy;
Corporate Strategy;
Renewable Energy;
Food;
Agribusiness;
Expansion;
Diversification;
Growth Management;
Technological Innovation;
Policy;
Government Legislation;
Energy Industry;
Energy Industry;
Energy Industry;
United States;
Louisiana;
California;
Texas
- July 2018 (Revised August 2018)
- Case
Project Helios: Harvesting the Sun
By: Mark Egan and E. Scott Mayfield
Aware of the impact that modern society was having on the environment, Ashley Telkes had always tried to be cognizant of her own impact on the environment and to take reasonable steps to mitigate her own effects. Having already implemented a number of passive measures...
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