Friday, April 29, 2011

MHT Clean Energy Forum: Consumer behavior dictates energy efficiency

By Kyle Alspach

It will take a lot more than just good technology to reduce energy use among U.S. consumers, speakers said during Mass High Tech’s Clean Energy Forum Friday.

Changes in energy use are “all driven by social norms,” said Susan Hunt Stevens, founder and CEO of Practically Green, an online service for helping consumers to make environmentally-friendly changes.

But many “green” energy changes happen “in basements and behind walls,” suggesting a reason why the Prius and solar panels are generally more popular — people can show them off, she said.

Stevens and three other panelists grappled with issues of consumer behavior, government policy and the way forward on energy efficiency during the event, held at the Seaport Hotel in Boston and attended by more than 100 people.

Briana Kane, residential program coordinator for the Cape Light Compact, said her organization’s pilot project on Cape Cod saw participants reduce their annual energy bills by 9 percent. Some of this was through collaboration between the participants, who helped each other with tips about how to cut down on energy use, Kane said.

Speakers also said that transparency around energy use is key. Tom Kelly, chief sustainability officer for the University of New Hampshire, said his campus is seeking to get students and staff involved by providing more data on the energy use of buildings. “We’re trying to raise the participation of people,” he said.

Tackling questions of government policy, Richard Goode, senior director of sustainability for Alcatel-Lucent, said he believes innovation is the route to better policies, rather than regulation. “Innovation is less expensive and more beneficial,” he said.

Chuck McDermott, general partner at Rockport Capital, gave an overview of the rise, fall and gradual recovery of cleantech venture capital during the keynote speech. McDermott noted how there was an “incredible amount of momentum” going into 2008 around investing in cleantech ventures, but debt and tax equity dried up when the downturn hit. “Never underestimate the impacts of a global recession,” he said.

Today, however, “we’re optimistic,” McDermott said, after conditions improved in 2010 and continue to get better today. Rockport is “hoping to have some IPO activity within the next 12 months,” he said. Other venture firms that have funded cleantech firms have similar expectations, McDermott said.