Wind turbines as far as the eye can see

You don’t believe me, right? Well, in Texas everything is bigger, so they say. And for Wind Energy, absolutely. Driving to Lubbock, TX from Austin, TX is quite an experience. Making the journey at night is even better. When you hit I-20 east of Abilene, TX you start to see some red lights in the dark sky, here and there in small clusters. You could think these are antennae or cell towers. As you make it through Sweetwater, TX and turn onto US-84 you get reminded of some Sci-Fi movies. As far as the eye can see red synchronize blinking lights in the dark sky, hundreds. It is surreal, never have I seen anything like it. To further my confusion once in a while an overwhelming smell came through the A/C. As I drove the first time I had no idea what all of this was, until next morning. Wind turbine installations on every rim and ledge and high plain for optimized wind capturing. And in between oil and gas wells (that's the smell), cotton farms and room for solar. The wind and sun are there plenty, and transmission lines for the wind energy too (though need to be more). Wind blows on the edges of the day typically, so solar energy can use during the midday the same transmission lines with really no congestion… Driving to Lubbock and its Texas Tech University made it clear to me:

Texas, the Sustainable Energy State.

Texas is oil, yes and it has build up a true global technology leadership all around it. Texas is Wind, and it is Solar. Texas is bio mass. Texas is marine and land based technologies, and has hydro along the Colorado River. And it is building up technology leadership all around these areas too.

Texas is Energy, sustainable.

What a place to be in today’s times, it’s all here, great technology with it’s leading Universities, Energy and High Tech companies and entrepreneurs, a unique infrastructure as Texas has its own electric grid (ERCOT); some of the best places nature has for all of these energy forms; and its people. If y’all not from Texas, look up the amazing history of the Alamo, that will explain it. And as they say, it all comes Texas sized! Don’t believe me? Today Texas has approximately 1/3 of the US wind generation (8/24/09: OK I rounded up, it's 28.4% according to http://www.awea.org/projects).

Operationalize Green

When I talk to companies the need for Green is usually not an issue anymore, which is great! But it seems a lot of organizations are in the midst of trying to figure out how to opperationalize green. I think that's a very natural flow of events, as Green has been for most an initiative, and successful initiatives are becoming part of daily operations.

There are tools helping you to track your progress. For most organizations Green house gas emissions are the #1 issue they try to address, as there are potential cost coming e.g. in form of carbon taxes.

Energize and provide focus to your organizations, set a bold target. Once you have figured out where your energy is used (remember the Energy audit) you can start taking action. I would expect that the biggest opportunities might not be in the factories as they have been under constant productivity improvement pressure for decades. And as IT becomes more pervasive in companies, with typically low utilization rates and missing energy management systems, IT should show up as one of your highest payback items.

So focusing on CO2 here is one way to get there:

• Have a plan and a vision, be bold and specific
  – “Zero CO2 and 100% renewable energy by 2011”
  – Don’t fall into the trap that Green is expensive and you have to do it all yourself
• The highest impact is changing your policies
  – Buy renewable Energy
  – Buy recyclable and recycled materials
  – Specify efficiencies (e.g. 95% efficient power supplies) and make it part of the RFQ
  – Set goals for ROTC/ROI* for all Green investments, including IT
• Create a Dashboard with Green Indicators e.g.
  – Total Enterprise % power consumed on off hours, find your minimum, eliminate energy waste relentlessly (Power management on everything, PC's, A/C, lighting, etc.)
  –IT utilization, ROTC, OPEX
  – % power from renewable sources
  – % materials recyclable/recycled
  – Etc.
• Invest in Green with high ROTC
  – Have others help you
  – E.g. Renewable Power is easier to buy than to generate

These steps should get you closer to opperationalize Green in your Enterprise!

*ROTC return on total capital /ROI return on investment