GreenNet 2011 helps in reducing the 'digital divide' in Green on eve of Earth Day

In its third year, GreenNet focused on 'digital energy' and explored a bit beyond the high-tech business world as it brought together investors, innovators, Fortune 100 and thought leaders in a one-day, high-energy conference. Earth2Tech editor, Katie Fehrenbacher, led a panel on connected cars and the hosts also invited Greenpeace along with the Internet giants Google, Microsoft and Yahoo.

Saul Griffith started the day with a refreshing presentation on how to visualize energy usage and inspire a new generation of leaders. I connected after the speech with Saul who works with the DOE on energy litteracy. He encouraged the media to profile new 'heroes' and concluded that "Green should go Red Bull when it comes to marketing!" San Francisco is in an interesting position to do that by merging the 'American Dream' machine from Silicon Valley with the environment thought leadership from Marin County and East Bay.

One refreshing panel looked into collaborative consumption and how the social web is affecting the green economy. Consumers are slowly coming to the idea of sharing cars or appartments after getting comfortable to use their credit card and true identity over the Internet. Shelby Clark, the CEO of RelayRides, noted that there is still a divide between the green movement and the business world: "green and economy do not quite fit together yet". Yet he learned how to make best of both backgrounds after a stint at Kiva in micro-lending and attending Harvard Business School.

Information technologies and the Internet have matured in the last ten years and investment opportunities are riping accross various cleantech sectors, energy efficiency and transportation being at the forefront. The investment panel confirmed that VCs are looking for more capital efficient deals like OPower that can optimize existing infrastructure and influence effectively consumer behavior. Some investors like Nat Goldhaber from Clarement Creek Ventures still keep an 'open eye' for the 'big ideas' that could disrupt a sector. However, those plays typically do require a lot more capital before an exit.


Tesla and CODA are some of the disruptors that raised several hundreds of millions of dollars and will probably need additional financing to break durably into the automotive market. Senior representatives from the two Californian companies gave an update on one panel on the launch of their sedan models. Both launches are slightly delayed but benefit from a healthy market demand. At the end of the day, it is all about execution and delivery. It is interesting to see that Tesla recruited a rising star from the automotive industry, Jerome Guillen, to take over the launch of 'White Star'.

GreenNet selected ten "Big Ideas" for the event and it included a surprising number of material start-ups like Transphorm in Santa Barbara and Phononic Devices in Raleygh. The second wave of greentech is definitely more about software plays compared to the first wave in solar. As various markets understand better business models for green technologies, it would not be surprising to see a new wave of more disruptive technologies in a few years.