GTM: Take Five Podcast

During the U.S. recession, new construction activity declined substantially. But construction of green buildings increased by 50 percent between 2008 and 2010. Why? Building owners no longer see sustainable design as "cute," they see often see it as a cost savings tool. In this week's show, we'll talk with Michael Deane, chief sustainability officer at Turner Construction, one of the largest construction companies in the U.S. He'll talk about what he's seeing in the market as customers get more comfortable with the concept of green design. For more of our green buildings and efficiency coverage, go to GreentechMedia.com.

Sean Parker, the founder of Napster, said it best: "A million dollars isn't cool. You know what's cool? A billion dollars." So what's the best way to get an energy company to a billion-dollar valuation? Christopher Marlett, CEO of MDB Capital Group, doesn't think it's through traditional venture capital. Rather, the believes the best strategy to scale breakthrough energy companies is to take them public early and raise follow-on funds after. In this week's show, we'll talk with Marlett about MDB's unique approach to funding disruptive technology companies.

In 2012, cleantech venture investments fell by 33 percent. Some are calling it a "cleantech cliff." In reality, it's a transition period as investors figure out how to make smarter technology plays that are less capital intensive. In this week's show, Scott Clavenna and Stephen Lacey discuss how efficiency is benefiting from this trend. Nancy Pfund, a managing partner at DBL Investors describes how VCs are feeling about efficiency plays; and Jon Guerster, CEO of the efficiency services company Groom Energy, talks about adoption cycle trends in the commercial/industrial efficiency space. For more on efficiency and other cleantech sectors, visit GreentechMedia.com.

Renewable Energy was heavily politicized during last year's presidential election. And although the election was widely seen as a success by industry advocates, there are a number of major political challenges in 2013. In this show, we'll talk with two policy experts about what to expect in Washington and on the state level this year.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. In this week's podcast, we'll highlight some cool changes to wind turbines that are helping companies take advantage of sites with lower wind resources. We'll also talk to U.S. wind developer First Wind about the uncertainties it faces around federal incentives -- a problem that seems to come up every year for the industry.

Do solar power and oil-rich nations mix? Greentech Media CEO Scott Clavenna talks with Scott Burger, solar analyst at GTM Research, from the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi about his latest market study, Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Solar Market Outlook, 2013-2017. Learn more about the report here.

In this week's podcast, Greentech Media CEO Scott Clavenna talks with Shayle Kann, Vice President of Research at GTM Research, about all things US Solar: the huge 4th quarter of solar installations in 2012, SolarCity's IPO, the landscape of residential solar financing in the US, and a first look at how the market will evolve in 2013.

Greentech Media CEO Scott Clavenna talks with Herman Trabish, GTM's editor covering the wind market, about what happened in 2012 and how the wind market will take shape in 2013. It is the best of times and the worst of times for certain: the PTC is about to expire in the US, while the Chinese suppliers see profits erode by over 90% this year. In the meantime wind markets are heating up in Mexico, Brazil, Eastern Europe and India. Offshore wind remains a wildcard in the US and continues to flourish in Europe. Regardless, 2013 will be rough one, characterized by transitions in every area of the market, from markets to suppliers and the continued development of innovative technologies to drive down costs and make wind competitive with fossil fuel around the world.

In this podcast, Greentech Media CEO Scott Clavenna talks with Andrew Gabor, solar PV technology expert and author of a recent market study, "Innovations in Crystalline Silicon PV 2013: Markets, Strategies and Leaders in Nine Technology Areas," about how innovations all along the PV manufacturing value chain can lower costs, improve efficiency and increase reliability - necessary ingredients for struggling solar companies to stay competitive in this challenging market. Listener beware! It gets very techie in here.

Greentech Media CEO Scott Clavenna talks with Stephen Smith, author of a new research report from GTM Research on the solar PV Balance of Systems market and its increasing importance in the solar market, where innovations in mounting structures, trackers, and advanced electronics are continually improving PV system performance and driving down costs.

In this week's podcast, Greentech Media CEO Scott Clavenna talks with Senior Analyst Shyam Mehta of GTM Research about his analysis of the solar supplier community, a community under significant stress caused by the huge imbalance between supply and demand in the global solar market, and the "China Factor." Who wins, who loses, who gets acquired, and what does the market look like when it's rationalized in 2014?

Greentech Media CEO Scott Clavenna talks with Analyst Scott Burger of GTM Research about the market for solar power systems in Japan over the next four years. Based on a newly published research report, The Japan PV Market, 2012-2016: A New Era of Solar or the Beginning of a Boom-Bust Cycle?, this podcast sheds light on how newly introduced incentives and global competition has made solar power much more attractive in Japan, from residential to commercial, industrial and utility-scale installations.

Scott Clavenna, CEO of Greentech Media, talks with Editor-in-Chief Eric Wesoff about the top news of the past two weeks, including Romney's energy plan, the Fisker Karma recall, CIGS solar companies on the ropes, and the buzz around GTM's "SoftGrid" conference in San Francisco.

Greentech Media CEO Scott Clavenna talks with Kevin Popper, analyst at Azure International, about their recent report on the market for grid-scale energy storage systems in China. This important emerging market was profiled in detail in the recently released report from the partnership of Greentech Media and Azure International to explore the Chinese Greentech market in great detail, from solar power to wind power, energy storage and efficiency technologies.

In this episode Greentech Media's CEO Scott Clavenna talks with long-time investor and blogger Rob Day of Black Coral Capital about the state of cleantech investing in 2012 - how it's changed over the last 5 years, and where the opportunities and obstacles are today in the market for building successful cleantech startups.