In May 2018, Stanford University hosted the Global Energy Forum, a small and private gathering of thought-leaders from a wide variety of sectors, including Bill Gates, Governor Jerry Brown, Senator Lisa Murkowski, and Brian Moynihan (CEO of Bank of America).
By any measure, the event was an enormous success. Indeed, the universally recognizable attendees and their cutting-edge ideas confirmed the value of the gathering. However, Sally Benson, co-director of the Precourt Energy Institute at Stanford University, was not entirely satisfied. She asked Eric Vettel, President of the American Energy Society, if the next Global Energy Forum might also include local thought-leaders from Silicon Valley. Eric asked, “who do you have in mind?” This simple question got them wondering: How many energy stakeholders are actually located in Silicon Valley? Sally and Eric offered a wager, with both that the total number of energy enterprises in Silicon Valley was “…probably around 500.”
They were off. By quite a bit.
It turns out that there are around 1,500 energy enterprises in Silicon Valley. Both knew about Silicon Valley’s capacity for innovation, and that this unique ecosystem consisted of elite research universities, large multi-national corporates, active venture and private investors, and a plethora of start-ups. But 1,500? Silicon Valley’s energy ecosystem is a lot bigger than anyone anticipated.
Eric Vettel has been president of the American Energy Society for 10 years. But with headquarters in Palo Alto, he has been able to watch the development of the ecosystem from the inside.
“It is a landscape that has changed quite considerably over the past 10 years, and has emerged quite rapidly as a global leader in the renewable energy evolution. Growing awareness of climate change and passionate commitment to sustainability is the tailwind that will push the region to greater achievement in the next few years”
In other words, the ‘green’ ecosystem in Silicon Valley is poised for take-off.
Decarbonization is key
Going green. Sustainability. Decarbonization. Words matter, and different words mean different things to different people. According to Vettel, “decarbonization” has supplanted “green” as the inspiration behind California’s transition to a cleaner, more efficient, and more sustainable economy.
“We use the term “decarbonize” because it describes our goals and objectives more accurately than the term “green.” It gives everyone a better sense of our common objective. It is more precise – did your new technology or new start-up activity remove carbon from the atmosphere? Or, was the net-result merely an offset? Staying in place is no longer an acceptable outcome … we have to actively remove carbon from the atmosphere. Thought-leaders in Silicon Valley did not fully appreciate that nuance 10 years ago, but they are starting to understand. Sally Benson’s co-director at Precourt, Arun Majumdar, calls carbon a “gigaton” problem. The Silicon Valley energy ecosystem is finally starting to understand the scale of the challenge.”
