Clean Energy: Market and Investment Opportunities

(BUS 197)

Cleantech is the new “new thing” in Silicon Valley: some say it’s either where the PC was in 1981 or the Internet was in 1993—only ten times larger. Now, as then, there is a great deal of hype, confusion, and challenge surrounding this new wave. What are the real, scalable market opportunities and which ones are dead ends? Do you bet on “clean coal,” biofuels, wind, geothermal, or solar? Who is winning today? This course starts with a long-term view of the future of energy and the physical limits and financial viability of each “clean energy” option. It then uses a framework from the instructor’s upcoming book, Solar Trillions, to analyze the opportunities in the buildup of the clean energy infrastructure over the next few decades.

Each session, we will cover a clean energy market opportunity, placing a strong emphasis on solar energyrelated applications, such as utility-scale solar; industrial, commercial, and residential solar; energy storage; water; and the smart grid. The course will also feature guest speakers, including investors, founders, and executives of clean energy companies.

Tony Seba, President, Seba Group

Tony Seba is the author of Solar Trillions — Create Wealth, Grow the Economy, Save the World, and Winners Take All —The 9 Fundamental Rules of High Tech Strategy, and a founding executive of a clean tech company. He was the award-winning founder and CEO of PrintNation.com, where he raised more than $30 million in venture capital. Seba has twenty-five years of experience in fast-growth companies, including business development and strategic planning at Cisco Systems and RSA Security. He is a keynote speaker, strategy consultant, and business architect who has helped high tech and clean tech entrepreneurs raise millions of dollars for their startups. He received an MBA from Stanford.