SolarCity’s CEO Lyndon Rive sat down with Fresh Dialogues last week to share details of the solar company’s business model, rapid growth, and ultimate goal of being the world’s largest energy provider. Yes indeed: this 35 year-old entrepreneur from South Africa anticipates no less than world domination.
Although Rive was tight lipped about the impending IPO expected in Q3 this year, he referred to the $280M investment from Google last year and said, “Our expectation is that companies like Google and other Fortune companies start making similar investments.”
“In order to monetize the full benefits of the solar system you need a large tax paying company. .. might as well use that tax bill to motivate the growth of the renewable industry…” he added. “We are approaching hundreds of Fortune 100 and 1000 companies…and will continually be raising funds, potentially in perpetuity.”
SolarCity is targeting companies that can benefit handsomely from the 30% Federal Business Tax Credit for solar investments. Although Rive wouldn’t name names, Apple Inc. springs to mind immediately. Record profits and enormous tax base? Check. Recently inclined to alternative energy investments? Check. In case you missed it, Apple recently invested in a massive 4.8 megawatt fuel cell development using Bloom Energy technology. Watch this space. We’ll keep you updated.
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Business Model
SolarCity’s innovative model offers a range of solar options. Customers can buy systems outright or pay zero down and lease or purchase the power the system produces. Large investments from partners like Google allow the company to make solar affordable and continue growing rapidly. Rive described the company’s business model thus: “(We) install solar systems for free, so we need capital to pay for that, and take a long term revenue stream on the electricity that we sell. So, as fast as we grow, that’s the business model that we’re in.”
The facts of climate change are still disputed, despite consensus from a majority of scientists. Last Friday, Fresh Dialogues sat down with ocean explorer and film maker, Jean-Michel Cousteau to to get the facts from an expert who is seeing its impact in our oceans and beyond.
“Climate change is a reality,” says Jean-Michel Cousteau, the son of legendary explorer Jacques Cousteau. “What we are responsible for and the consequences we’ll have to face up to is that because our emissions of CO2 are accelerating the process, things are happening much faster.”
One of the biggest impacts he highlights is the reduced protection of our coastlines due to corals dying and sea level rising. He anticipates increased storms and flooding; and millions being displaced around the world.
I asked Cousteau: what advice does he have for people wanting to reduce their carbon footprint?
“It starts at home and by better managing our home, we save money and by the same token we save energy and emit less CO2,” says Cousteau. “The other one is our consumption. People eat too much. People are FAT!”
His forthright answer caught me off guard. No more Crème brûlée for me. We all have to make sacrifices.
Here’s a short segment of our interview. We also discussed China vs US action on climate change; President Obama’s response to climate change and his energy policy; and the important lesson his father, Jacques Cousteau, taught him.
Check out my story at:
KQED’s Climate Watch for Cousteau’s views on California’s Global Warming Solutions Act, AB 32
Dan Akerson, CEO of General Motors spoke with Fresh Dialogues last night in San Francisco about the five week suspension of Chevy Volt production; the future of what he described as GM’s “statement car” and his surprisingly candid views on climate change.
Arguing that GM matches production to inventory, he said, “It’s foolhardy to produce beyond demand.” As of February 2012, Volt inventory was 6,300 units, enough to last at least 5 months at current sales volumes. Last month 1,023 Volts were sold, up from 603 units in January, making the 2012 goal of 45,000 sales appear a huge stretch. Akerson complained about the media’s laser focus on the Chevy Volt. Despite it being less than half of one percent of GM’s annual car production, it gets all the attention. He noted that no one batted an eye when production of the Chevy Cruze (GM’s top selling car) was halted for two weeks.
So what’s the future of the Volt? A spring relaunch will feature new generation Volts, with improved emissions levels, which now qualify for HOV lane stickers in California – a key factor, since one in four Volts are sold in the Golden State. He believes that this will help stimulate demand and quoted a recent study that found the average commuter saves 36 minutes a day by using carpools. Time is money. But is it worth $40,000? He confirmed that small shipments of the new Volt had already been made and the car will be available soon in California showrooms.
Akerson also described the new ad campaign which will be, in his words “more interesting.”
And the facts about Global Warming? Fresh Dialogues had to ask.
“We’re doing the right thing for the company at the right time. We will leave it up to the consumer how they interpret that.” Akerson said.
But his position on climate change is clear. During a Commonwealth Club interview, he confessed that he “believes” in Global Warming, adding “Several GM executives say ‘you don’t say that in public.’ Well, this may surprise you but my underwear doesn’t have GM stamped on it…I am an individual and I do have my own convictions.”
Good to know.
Here’s the amusing video segment from the Commonwealth Club
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How much influence does First Lady Michelle Obama have on the President and his green policies? I put this question to David Axelrod, President Obama’s chief political strategist and his answer was candid: ENORMOUS.
Michelle Obama is well known for her Let’s Move campaign which puts good eating and anti-obesity front and center, so it’s easy to imagine this talented Harvard educated lawyer and mentor in chief is also making her views heard in the White House on issues beyond healthy eating and healthy living….including the health of the planet, climate change and even energy policy.
It was her organic kitchen garden at the White House which put Michelle Obama’s true (green) colors in the international spotlight in 2009. Fans have applauded her bold green action – planting the first kitchen garden since Eleanor Roosevelt’s Victory Garden – but Obama’s raised beds of organic arugula, spinach and Thai basil also caused a firestorm of complaint in the agriculture industry. It even inspired a priceless Little Shop of Horrors segment on the Daily Show.
In April this year, just in time for Earth Day, Michelle Obama’s first book American Grown, will be released and we’ll learn more from the First Lady about how her daughters, Malia and Sasha inspired her to rethink healthy eating and develop green thumbs. Like legendary chef, Alice Waters, she believes that increased access to healthy, affordable food can promote better eating habits and improve health of families and communities across America.
In a New York Times article, Obama explained her kitchen garden rationale. For children, she said, food is all about taste, and fresh and local food tastes better.
“A real delicious heirloom tomato is one of the sweetest things that you’ll ever eat,” she said. “And my children know the difference, and that’s how I’ve been able to get them to try different things.
“I wanted to be able to bring what I learned to a broader base of people. And what better way to do it than to plant a vegetable garden in the South Lawn of the White House?”
For his part, David Axelrod declares that the vegetables served at White House dinners are tasty but attributes it to both the organic garden and the wonderful White House chefs.
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Here is a transcript of my interview with David Axelrod on January 27, 2012 re. Solyndra, 2012 Energy Policy and President Obama’s State of the Union speech. Video here
ALISON VAN DIGGELEN: Hello and welcome to Fresh Dialogues. Today I’ll be talking with David Axelrod. President Obama’s Chief Political Strategist. David, thank you for joining me today on Fresh Dialogues
DAVID AXELROD: Happy to be here.
ALISON VAN DIGGELEN: Good. Now Obama has started his first (2012) Campaign ad with a defense of his clean energy policy. Why did Obama choose to start with green?
DAVID AXELROD: The ad that it was responding to was an ad sponsored by a SuperPAC… sponsored by the Koch brothers… two oil billionaires … and it was an attack particularly on the Solyndra issue but it was really an attack on the whole green energy initiative of the president’s. And we’re proud of that initiative…we’re proud that we’re on par to double renewable energy during the course of his first term. He believes very strongly that we need to command the clean energy technology of the future and that as a country we need to be encouraging the development of clean energy technology or we’re going to see that go to other parts of the world.
ALISON VAN DIGGELEN: You mention Solyndra specifically. Solyndra seems to be a thorn in the side of Obama. It keeps coming up. How does he intend to remove the thorn?
DAVID AXELROD: All you can do is be open and candid about it. We knew when made investments in clean energy technology that some would do well and others would not. That’s the nature of this…these are speculative investments. And that’s the reason why they needed some nudging from the government in order to blossom…You can look at Solyndra or you can look at the fact that when we started, the US had about 2% of the advanced battery manufacturing for electric cars. We’re on course to get to 40% by the middle of this decade.
ALISON VAN DIGGELEN: That’s impressive.
DAVID AXELROD: That wouldn’t have happened without the investments we’ve made. We’ve seen real growth in solar and in wind energy and so these are investments that are paying off for the country. I’m very certain that we’re going to look back at the seeds that were planted during this period and we will say that it has made a big difference for the country in a positive way.
ALISON VAN DIGGELEN: What percentage of the program’s investment went to Solyndra?
DAVID AXELROD: There were forty under this specific program, so it was a small percentage of the entire program. It was a program… that was begun under the Bush Administration and we accelerated that program because we do believe that we are in a real competition for the clean energy technology of the future and we as a country have a great interest in developing alternative energy and home grown domestic energy and renewable energy. These were investments that made sense. Some will pay great dividends, others unfortunately will not.
ALISON VAN DIGGELEN: Yes.
DAVID AXELROD: Plainly, we have to have our eye on the future and really encourage and develop renewable sources of energy. It’s good for the planet, it’s good for the economy, it’ll create great jobs…high end manufacturing jobs. This is going to continue being a thrust for us. We’re not going to back off.
ALISON VAN DIGGELEN: Thanks for joining us.
The interview took place backstage at Foothill College’s Celebrity Forum on January 27, 2012. Check back soon for more with David Axelrod:
On Michelle Obama’s influence on green policy
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