Tula International | Executive Search for Renewable Energy and Emerging Technologies

Networking and Dealmaking

The 2011 Utility Scale Solar Summit, which gets underway in San Diego tomorrow, promises to deliver an event where project developers, utilities executives, technology providers, investors, contractors and others come together to inform, challenge, network and make deals.

Billed as the number one industry event in the country, the conference includes a government policy and incentives briefing, a panel discussion of utility scale PV projects, a presentation of inverters, storage, integration and operational issues and their new technology developments, and a great deal more packed into three days of intense activity.

As the industry grows, the competition for top talent continues to intensify. Tula International, as a specialist in executive search for renewable energy companies, is on the forefront of bringing its clients the most qualified candidates. Meet Managing Partner Bernard Vanderlande in San Diego this week; call him at 404.543.2835 to schedule a brief hello.

Filed Under: Events, Renewable Energy Tagged With: dealmaking, executive search, investors, networking, PV projects, solar energy, solar utility scale, top talent, Utility Scale Solar Summit 2011

Green Jobs: Greener Pay

It used to be that a Georgia high school graduate could find a decent job – in retail, construction, or even banking. Those days are long gone (although just last year a well-known businessman in South Georgia was heard saying that he had done well enough for himself, thank you very much, with a high school diploma and he saw no need for his son to go to college – really!) – and even that college degree we now know everyone needs is no longer enough. Specialization is required, expertise, a niche, an area of deep knowledge, coupled with interest, curiosity, dedication and commitment.

This is particularly true in technical and scientific fields. No one becomes a robotics expert without it, NASA still needs aerospace engineers, and the renewable energy fields thirst for it. Whether it’s building and running Georgia’s next biomass plant, constructing and operating a wind farm in the North Sea, or installing India’s largest photovoltaic field, the jobs are there, talent is in demand and salaries are getting greener by the year.

According to Simply Hired, the average renewable energy job in August 2011 paid $61,000. That compares with averages of $49,000 for a loan specialist and $42,000 for a retail store manager. Salaries for environmental engineers are typically above $75,000, and way back in 2008 supply chain / logistics jobs paid $109,000 and more to professionals with a master’s degree.

According to Bernard Vanderlande, Managing Partner of Tula International, a local executive search firm that specializes in renewable energy industries, a scarcity of experienced leaders is driving competition in the sectors, resulting in higher compensation and greater benefits.

The son of the man in South Georgia who believes a college education is not that important will no longer be able to find a job pumping gas; he may find one harvesting trees for a biomass plant at $8 to $12 an hour. His classmate who is heading for MIT, meanwhile, has his sights set on that six-figure paycheck. Greener pay for green jobs – education makes the difference.

Filed Under: Renewable Energy Tagged With: compensation, executive salaries, executive search, green jobs, Renewable Energy

Solar – Are We Making Progress?

At the end of last year, the utility PV market in the United States was valued at $1 billion annually and thought to be scaling rapidly, with an estimate of it reaching $8 billion a year by 2015.

A September 7 opinion piece by Tuan Pham for PowerFin Partners, meanwhile, raises the question of future interest rates and their potential for a negative impact on the growth of the solar industry. He argues that it’s the cost of capital, not the system costs, that the industry must keep in mind as it develops further projects.

Tula International Managing Partner Bernard Vanderlande will be attending the Utility Scale Solar conference in San Diego next week.

Filed Under: Economic Trends, Renewable Energy, Solar Tagged With: Bernard Vanderlande, conferences, solar industry, Tula International, Utility Scale Solar

More Policies and Investments Needed

Writing in Forbes magazine, Ucilia Wang draws our attention to a report just issued by Clean Energy Vision (“Western Grid 2050: Contrasting Futures, Contrasting Fortunes”) that states that the Western United States are not doing enough to promote clean energy. According to the report, policymakers must implement more aggressive clean-energy standards and provide funding support for low-carbon energy sources.

Filed Under: Renewable Energy Tagged With: clean energy policies, clean-energy standards, investments, policymakers, VC

Innovative Ways to Provide Cleaner Energy

Interviewed for Renewable Energy World (edition of August 24), Paul Browning, President and CEO of Thermal Products, GE Energy, says the company “see(s) the growing importance of integrating natural gas and renewable energy resources in new and innovative ways to provide energy that is cleaner, more cost effective and more reliable.”

You will find a link to the entire article on our Facebook page.

Filed Under: Renewable Energy Tagged With: clean power, GE Energy, innovation, Renewable Energy, Renewable Energy World

A Potential Boost for Biomass

It was reported the other day that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has offered the multi-national biofuels company Abengoa Bioenergy a conditional commitment for a construction loan guarantee of $134 million. This would facilitate the establishment of a refinery facility inKansasfor the production of renewable liquid fuel from cellulosic biomass, thereby creating approximately 300 construction jobs and 65 permanent jobs.

Not as much “in the news” as solar and wind, biomass is nevertheless of interest to utilities also, as they grapple with energy requirements and customers’ wishes, with some clearly focused on “cheap electricity”, while others are vocal about their wishes for “clean power”.

In Georgia, Georgia Power Company shelved plans last year to convert its Plant Mitchell, in the Southwestern part of the state, from coal to biomass, pending clarification of EPA regulations. As of the end of 2010, power generation inGeorgiawas 67% from coal, 21% nuclear, 10% oil and gas and 2% hydro.

Filed Under: Renewable Energy Tagged With: bioenergy, biofuels, biomass, coal conversion, DOE, plant construction jobs, power generation

October Wind Conference in London

Writing in Wind Energy Update, a LinkedIn group, Managing Director Tom Evans proposes that ex-military men and women will be in high demand for wind energy construction projects.

British, Dutch and Danish Royal Navy are just some places where the traditional military training programs contain many of the key criteria an offshore employer seeks. Thousands of hours of offshore work experience, check. Educated to a good standard of higher learning maybe even with specific electrical engineering skills sets, check. A built in sense of teamwork and respect for authority and command, check.

He invites us all to London for the 3^rd annual Offshore Wind Construction, Installation and Commissioning Conference, October 4-6.

Filed Under: General, Renewable Energy, Wind Tagged With: conference, offshore, wind energy, wind power, wind power construction projects

Renaissance in American Manufacturing

”I’m calling for all of us to come together – private sector industry, universities, and the government – to spark a renaissance in American manufacturing and help our manufacturers develop the cutting-edge tools they need to compete with anyone in the world. With these key investments, we can ensure that the United States remains a nation that ‘invents it here and manufactures it here’ and creates high-quality, good paying jobs for American workers.” President Barack Obama.

The U.S. Advanced Manufacturing Partnership was announced by the President during a June visit to the National Robotics Engineering Center at Carnegie Mellon University

Filed Under: General Tagged With: American workers, competition, cutting-edge, inventions, jobs, manufacturing, public-private partnerships, universities

2011 Investment Milestone

The Biofuels Digest has reported that global biofuels-related investments have reached $10B for 2011.

“Key venture capital raises for the year to date include: $30 million by Enerkem, $50 million by Elevance, $36.5M by OPX Biotechnologies, $43M by Avantium, $20M by Cobalt, $5M (set) by Frontline Bioenergy, $25M (set) by Agilyx, $16M by Solix, $2M by Coolplanet, $75 million by Fulcrum Bioenergy, $50 million (set) by Mascoma, and $12 million by Woodland Biofuels.”

It further reports that the largest single investment was a $700 million transaction by Polimeri Europa, Novamont, for a bio-based product complex in Italy, while the largest deal in the US was the $227 million Solazyme IPO.

Filed Under: Renewable Energy, Venture Funding Tagged With: bioenergy, biofuels, Elevance, Enerkem, investments, Polimeri Europa, Solazyme, VC

Hiring a Consultant – Yes? No?

Volumes have been written about the pros and cons of hiring a consultant. Among the pros: get an extra brain. Among the cons: it’s expensive.

Perhaps the most overlooked very good reason for hiring a consultant is that nobody – really, nobody! – inside the enterprise today has time to take on yet another task.

Whether it is the launch of a new product, the revamp of a web site, the analysis of a recently acquired business unit, the replacement of a C-Suite leader, the exploration of a new market . . ., do you have time? Does one of your VPs? Maybe your secretary can do something with that web site. Or your HR benefits generalist has contacts that can help you find a new COO or CFO. Yeah, right!

Productivity is on the rise. That means that we all work harder, for longer hours, to deliver more results. It also means that we are so thinly stretched that taking on yet another task is out of the question. Unless we want to stumble along for a while and finally settle for a less than optimal result.

Today’s savvy Chairmen, CEOs and Presidents know that getting a hired gun on board – with expertise, experience and recommendations, of course – is the way to go. It saves time. It saves money. It delivers results. It burnishes the bottom line.

Filed Under: General Tagged With: consultant, consulting, experience, expertise, hiring, recommendations, reputation