TEC 2015: Breaking Barriers to a Clean Energy Future

Saturday February 21st, 2015

For the last decade, TEC has sought to explore the multifaceted world of energy and all it encompasses. Along the way, we’ve discussed energy security, developing markets, and the challenges confronting the electricity sector; this year, we tackled green energy. Our conference, entitled Breaking Barriers to a Clean Energy Future, took a close look at practical ideas that will transition our planet toward a cleaner, greener future. Meaningful, achievable solutions are out there; the challenge is how to implement them.

Ian Bowles is co-founder and Managing Director of WindSail Capital Group. He brings over 25 years of experience in the energy and environmental sectors. Prior to WindSail, he served as Massachusetts Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs, where he oversaw a landmark restructuring of utility and environmental regulation which included making MA a top ranked state in energy efficiency, renewable energy and greenhouse gas emissions reductions. He was also chairman of the MA Water Resources Authority and the founding chairman of the MA Clean Energy Center. Earlier in his career, he served on the National Security Council staff of President Bill Clinton and was a Vice President at Conservation International where he played a key role in creation of the four million acre Central Suriname Nature Reserve.

Ian is a board member at the New England Clean Energy Council, First Wind, RGS Energy and the Museum of Science. He is an advisor to several other leading clean energy companies. Ian received his A.B. from Harvard College and a Masters degree from Oxford University. A native of Woods Hole, MA, he currently lives in Boston with his wife and two children.

Jigar Shah is the President and Co-Founder of Generate Capital. Jigar was the founder and CEO of SunEdison (NASDAQ: SUNE), where he pioneered “no money down solar” and unlocked a multi-billion-dollar solar market, creating the largest solar services company worldwide. He is the author of Creating Climate Wealth: Unlocking the Impact Economy. After SunEdison, Jigar served as the founding CEO of the Carbon War Room, a global non-profit founded by Sir Richard Branson and Virgin Unite to help entrepreneurs address climate change.

Generate Capital, the Carbon War Room and SunEdison all follow from Jigar’s vision that business model innovation will have an outsized impact on bringing about the next productivity revolution – resource efficiency. Jigar is committed to helping entrepreneurs and large companies alike implement resource efficiency solutions using “no money down” project finance models.

Jigar holds an MBA from The University of Maryland and BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. He sits on the boards of sPower and the Rocky Mountain Institute.  

Colibri is a solar social enterprise that bridges the last mile gap to alleviate energy poverty in Latin America—those living in geographic and economic isolation without access to resources and information to lift themselves out of poverty.