Inside Cleantech – S2:E5 – An institutional Investor’s Perspective | Eric Bjonerud – Macquarie GIG

January 24, 2022/in Uncategorized/by Eleni Gkagkani

Renewable Energy Investments – An institutional Investor’s Perspective | Eric Bjonerud – Macquarie GIG

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Cleantech Geek – Inside Cleantech Series – Series 2 : Episode 5

At this series we discuss with experts, senior executives and influencers from the Cleantech and Renewable Energy Industry as well as from the Entrepreneurship and Investment World. Find out about their opinions on the future of Green Entech and Cleantech, get their insights on opportunities & risks, discover the secrets of successful businesses & ventures, learn from their successes and failures.

On this interview, I am discussing with Mr Eric Bjonerud, Managing Director of Macquarie’s Green Investment Group. Macquarie’s GIG is an established global player on renewable energy investments. Eric, is sharing with us his thoughts on:

-Why institutional investors are now willing to take development risk.

-What are the current bottlenecks on accelerating investments in Renewables.

-What are the important key criteria when they invest in new markets and development platforms.

We also discuss about PPAs, the current energy crisis and the challenges in procurement and logistics.

Filmed in Macquarie’s Office Tower in London during the COP26 conference in Glasgow, Eric and I touch upon a controversial matter in the industry of CAPEX vs OPEX and share personal expectations from COP26 climate change conference.

Please watch the video and leave your comments below! Don’t forget to subscribe and like!

Inside Cleantech – S2:E4 – Evolution of Battery Storage – Interview | Jorg Heinemann – EverVenue

October 20, 2021/in Uncategorized/by Eleni Gkagkani

Cleantech Geek

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Evolution of Battery Storage – Interview | Jorg Heinemann – EverVenue

Cleantech Geek – Inside Cleantech Series – Series 2 : Episode 4 – At this series we discuss with experts, senior executives and influencers from the Cleantech and Renewable Energy Industry as well as from the Entrepreneurship and Investment World. Find out about their opinions on the future of Green Entech and Cleantech, get their insights on opportunities & risks, discover the secrets of successful businesses & ventures, learn from their successes and failures.

On this interview, I am discussing with Mr Jorg Heinemann, CEO of EnerVenue. Jorg, is sharing with us his insighs on Battery Storage and the develpments both from market and technologies perspective. EnerVenue, is a Unicorn Startup based in the USA, developing cutting edge energy storage techology for Utility Scale Applications. Filmed over a video call on Teams Jorg and I, are discussing about EnerVenue’s journey the current state of the renewable and energy storage industries, developemtns in the battery storage and the challenges we face towards a decarbonised energy generating market environment.

Please watch the video and leave your comments below! Don’t forget to subscribe and like!

The Economic and Environmental Impact of Electric Scooters

August 10, 2021/in Cleantech/by Eleni Gkagkani

Cleantech Geek
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The Economic and Environmental Impact of Electric Scooters

Written by Hubert Pablo – Mearth, Guest Contributor at Cleantech Geek

Electric scooters are now more than just a leisurely ride for children and teenagers. They now help clean the transportation sector. Cities across the globe have been seeing the benefits of legalising and implementing shared and private electric scooters on city roads and lanes.

For one, it helps replace car trips and reduce road emissions in highly congested cities. In fact, shared e-scooter scheme Lime reported that their e-scooters helped save 330 tons of carbon emissions in Paris. Because of its emission-free nature, more countries have legalised electric scooters in public, including Germany, Switzerland, and Denmark.

Aside from its environmental impact, several studies also found that electric scooters help contribute to a city’s economy. From providing low-cost transport alternatives to increasing tourism in cities, electric scooters also offer economic benefits as it helps move people within cities.

With this, here are some of the economic and environmental benefits of riding electric scooters.

Latest Greek auction points to future market realities

July 13, 2021/in Renewable Energy/by Eleni Gkagkani

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Written by Jon McNair | ENERGY REV

First published here • JUNE 28, 2021

Latest Greek auction points to future market realities

The steady reduction in the price of winning tariffs in successive rounds of Greek renewables auctions, capped by the most recent edition in May, has the potential to realign the market in the country.

Over successive auctions held over recent years, Greece has followed most other countries in registering incremental drops in the tariffs awarded to successful projects.

And May’s (2021) latest 350MW edition of the Greek programme was no exception as successful bid prices dipped down to an average of EUR 37.60/MWh, although falling as far as EUR 32.97 in the case of one project: a 19.3MW solar farm developed by local group Egnatia.

Other successful bidders included Lightsource bp, in a collaboration with another local developer Kiefer TEK, which secured 20-year contracts for 140MW of solar PV capacity at an average price of EUR 38.50/MWh. Meanwhile, Mytilineos also bagged tariffs for 140MW of solar, at a slightly lower average rate of EUR 37/MWh.

Cero Generation and Wattcrop form joint venture to develop Greek solar energy portfolio

July 12, 2021/in News, Renewable Energy/by cleantechgeek.com

Today marks a significant milestone for all of us here at cleantechgeek.com, our main company Wattcrop has successfully formed a Joint Venture with Cero Generation, a Macquarie Green Investment Group portfolio company. Our purpose to drive Renewable Energy and Storage Assets mainly to the Greek and but also to other European markets. Combining financial strength, knowhow and local expertise we are setting ambitious targets to develop more than 750MW in the next few years just on the Greek market alone. Please find below the official Press Release:

Monday, 12th of July 2021

Cero Generation and Wattcrop announce a new joint venture partnership to develop an extensive portfolio of solar PV projects in Greece.
The partners are targeting the development of 750 MW of capacity over the next four years.
The joint venture marks Cero’s entry into the Greek market. With more than 8 GW under development across 150 projects, Cero is home to one of Europe’s largest solar development portfolios.

THE PIVOT MINDSET

July 1, 2021/in Entrepreneurship/by Eleni Gkagkani

Cleantech Geek
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The Pivot Mindset

Written by Angelica Morrone, Guest Contributor at Cleantech Geek

According to Eric Ries, who first applied the term pivot to startups in his book “The Lean Startup” a pivot is defined as a change in strategy, without a change in vision.

A pivot should and does occur when a company shifts its business strategy to accommodate changes in the industry, customer preference, competitive landscape, or any factor that impacts the bottom line. Pivoting allows a company to translate direct or indirect feedback into a change to the business model.

The people who know me and have interacted with me professionally know that I am fanatic about testing of all business assumptions and of all aspects of a business model. A pivot will be applied after testing out an approach and receiving feedback.

When should you pivot? Pivoting is not a solution to all problems, not a panacea to all shortfalls. It should be considered when other options have been considered and excluded.