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- 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;
Financial Services 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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- 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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- 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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- 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
- December 2018 (Revised January 2020)
- Case
Husk Power: Scaling the Venture
In January 2018, Husk Power had just raised $20 million to scale operations for a second time. From 2007 through 2013, Husk built 80 biomass waste (primarily rice husk from rice mills) plants that provided electricity to 250,000 villagers and shop owners spread across...
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Keywords:
Scaling;
Energy;
Entrepreneurship;
Emerging Markets;
Growth and Development;
Energy Industry;
India
- April 2018 (Revised March 2019)
- Case
Tesla-SolarCity
By: E. Scott Mayfield and Emil N. Siriwardane
On June 21, 2016, Tesla Motors, Inc. announced its offer to acquire SolarCity, bringing CEO Elon Musk one step closer to completing his goal of moving the world from a hydrocarbon-based economy to a solar-electric one. Markets and analysts were mixed in their reaction...
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- 2018
- Report
The Future of Nuclear Energy in a Carbon-Constrained World: An Interdisciplinary MIT Study
The Future of Nuclear Energy in a Carbon-Constrained World study is the eighth in the MIT Energy Initiative’s "Future of" series, which aims to shed light on a range of complex and important issues involving energy and the environment. A central theme is...
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- November 2016 (Revised September 2018)
- Case
Elon Musk's Big Bets
By: David B. Yoffie, Eric Baldwin and Brandon Kaufmann
Between late 2014 and late 2016, Tesla CEO Elon Musk undertook several major, and risky, initiatives that would dramatically expand the scale and scope of Tesla’s business. In late 2014, Tesla began construction on a $5 billion “gigafactory” that would manufacture...
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Keywords:
Electric Vehicles;
Batteries;
Solar Power;
Strategy;
Execution;
Space Flight;
Tesla;
SolarCity;
SpaceX;
Elon Musk;
Technology;
Risk and Uncertainty;
Expansion;
Renewable Energy;
Investment;
Manufacturing Industry;
Green Technology Industry;
Auto Industry;
Aerospace Industry;
Battery Industry
- October 2016
- Case
Elon Musk: Balancing Purpose and Risk
By: Shikhar Ghosh and Sarah Mehta
The case is used to illustrate the place of ‘Purpose’ versus financial risk and returns in a founder’s objectives. It also addresses personal risk profile of different founders, and when paired with the Risk Tolerance Exercise, it enables evaluating one’s own appetite...
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- September 2016 (Revised March 2021)
- Case
DBL Partners: Double Bottom Line Venture Capital
By: Shawn Cole, Mark Kramer, Tony L. He, Anshul Maudar and T. Robert Zochowski
This case explores the origins and current practices of DBL, a San Francisco–based venture capital fund and one of the first impact investment funds to achieve significant financial returns to scale. This case allows for a competitive analysis of DBL's investment...
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- 2016
- Teaching Note
Advanced Leadership Pathways: Richard Fahey and Robert Saudek—Lighting Liberia
By: Rosabeth M. Kanter, Tessa Natanay Hamilton and Ai-Ling Jamila Malone
Teaching Note for Case 313-032. After successful careers as lawyers and Fellows in Harvard's Advanced Leadership Initiative, Richard Fahey and Robert Saudek set out to tackle a large-scale infrastructure challenge in a complex environment by ultimately using advanced...
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Keywords:
Solar;
Solar Power;
Electricity;
Clean Technology;
Scaling-up;
Economic Development;
Partnerships;
Sustainability;
Innovation;
Leadership Skills;
Renewable Energy;
Energy;
Infrastructure;
Technology;
Economy;
Partners and Partnerships;
Distribution;
Innovation Leadership;
Leadership;
Social Entrepreneurship;
Change Management;
Energy Industry;
Africa;
Liberia
- June 2015 (Revised August 2018)
- Case
American Electric Power: Facing the Challenges of Distributed Generation
By: Richard H.K. Vietor and Hilary White
American Electric Power, like most utilities in the USA, is currently exposed to distributed generation and the problem of net-metering. Solar installations in particular have been heavily subsidized, by the state and by regulation, which does not allow grid operators...
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Keywords:
Electricity;
Utilities;
Electric Power Generation;
Net Metering;
Distributed Generation;
Disruptive Innovation;
Energy Markets;
Solar Power;
Wind Power;
Solar;
Wind;
Subsidies;
Legislation;
Regulation;
Disruption;
Energy;
Energy Generation;
Renewable Energy;
Problems and Challenges;
Risk and Uncertainty;
Technology;
Business Strategy;
Corporate Strategy;
Energy Industry;
Green Technology Industry;
Utilities Industry;
United States
- August 2014 (Revised May 2016)
- Case
Husk Power
By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and Sid Misra
In late 2013, Husk Power Systems found itself falling further and further behind plan. The founding CEO had decided to resign. His co-founder is faced with the decision of quitting his corporate job in the US to head to India and help form a new management team. Husk...
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Keywords:
Plant-Based Agribusiness;
Business Model;
Business Startups;
Energy Generation;
Renewable Energy;
Social Entrepreneurship;
Foreign Direct Investment;
International Finance;
Globalized Markets and Industries;
Crime and Corruption;
Employee Relationship Management;
Independent Innovation and Invention;
Employment;
Leadership Style;
Leading Change;
Management Practices and Processes;
Management Style;
Management Succession;
Management Skills;
Emerging Markets;
Social Psychology;
Culture;
Business Strategy;
Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry;
Energy Industry;
Green Technology Industry;
Utilities Industry;
Africa;
India;
United States
- January 2013 (Revised August 2013)
- Case
First Solar: CFRA's Accounting Quality Concerns
By: Suraj Srinivasan and Ian McKown Cornell
The case relates to accounting quality analysis conducted by the leading research firm Center for Financial Research and Analysis (CFRA) on companies in the solar industry with a focus on First Solar Inc. In 2009, CFRA was concerned that First Solar, like much of the...
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Keywords:
Accounting;
Accounting Quality;
Financial Accounting;
Financial Statement Analysis;
Accounting Fraud;
Accounting Red Flags;
Accounting Scandal;
Risk and Uncertainty;
Quality;
Earnings Management;
Valuation;
Crime and Corruption;
Financial Statements;
Energy Sources;
Green Technology Industry;
Accounting Industry;
Energy Industry
- June 2012
- Case
PV Technologies, Inc.: Were They Asleep at the Switch?
By: Frank V. Cespedes and Diane Badame
PV Technologies, Inc. is an industry-leading manufacturer of photovoltaic inverters used to convert the direct current output of solar panels into alternating current for the commercial power grid. In conjunction with a request for proposal, the company's largest...
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- September 2009 (Revised January 2012)
- Case
Suntech Power
Suntech, a Chinese manufacturer of photovoltaic cells and solar panels, is the third largest solar company in the world. About 90 percent of its sales have been in Europe—especially Germany and Spain. But with its new "pluto" technology, and with new governmental...
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