Financial implications of distributed resources: Lessons learned from Germany

by Diana Rowe, MEM/MBA ‘16 This article was written in response to a seminar given by Gregory Aliff, Vice Chairman and Senior Partner, Deloitte Energy and Resources practice, in an EDGE Seminar on Apr. 9, 2014 at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. Utilities, using conventional power generation, have assumed a long-standing responsibility of deploying […]

China’s energy and climate policies: Pragmatic, productive, but ultimately ineffective?

by Urosh Tomovich, MEM/MBA ’15 On March 26, EDGE hosted a Forum on Cleantech in China at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business that featured insights from five panelists about starting, funding, and growing businesses in China. Panelist Tom Darden, CEO and Founder of Cherokee Investment Partners, has been engaged in the Chinese cleantech sector since […]

Raising the relative value of waste-to-energy

by Tim McDonald, MBA ’15 This article was written in response to an EDGE Seminar on “The Economics of Waste” on Feb. 26, 2014 at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. Waste-to-energy (WTE) technology has the potential to minimize air and groundwater pollution by offsetting consumed fossil fuels and landfill use.  A recent report from […]

Utilities can win by entering the distributed solar market

by Omar Arriaga (MBA ’15), Adam Cornelius (MEM ’14), Julia Mote (MBA ’15), and Eric Vandenbrink (MBA ’15) This article was written in response to a seminar given by Allen Burchett, Senior VP for Business Development, ABB North America, in an EDGE Seminar on Feb. 5, 2014 at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. Alan […]

Together now: Good governance and better business discussed at the World Ocean Summit

by Sarah Hoyt (MEM/MBA ’16) Leaders in business, government, academia and nonprofit convened in San Francisco at The Economist’s World Ocean Summit last week to address the role of ocean health in a thriving global economy. I was fortunate to attend, representing Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment and Fuqua School of Business. Over […]

Fuqua focuses more on the business of energy

by Richard Bethune, MBA ’14 As Co-President of the Duke MBA Energy Club and a second-year MBA student with a passion for energy finance, I was thrilled to see two exciting developments occur this past summer. First, energy banker Ralph Eads donated $5.5 million to Duke, most of which will fund Duke Energy Initiative programs […]

Smart cities: Lessons from the internet

by Jeff Fish, MEM ’14 This article was written in response to a seminar given by Ken Geisler, Vice President, Strategy, Siemens Smart Grid, in an EDGE Seminar on Nov. 20, 2013 at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. Ken Geisler of Siemens Corp. spoke recently in the EDGE Seminar about the opportunities of, and […]

Lessons for energy entrepreneurs

by Lisa Huber, MEM/MBA ’14 This article was written in response to a seminar given by Pedro Santos, Founder and CEO of OsComp Systems, in an EDGE Seminar on Nov. 13, 2013 at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. Pedro Santos, founder of OsComp Systems, sold his first business before graduating high school and has […]

Sustainable development requires truth in advertising

by Tim McDonald, MBA ’15 This article was written in response to a seminar given by Tom Albanese, Chairman, Vedanta Resources Holdings, in an EDGE Seminar on Nov. 6, 2013 at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. Sustainable development is critically important to the mining industry for very pragmatic reasons.  In particular, mining companies must […]

Winning in cleantech VC

by Richard Bethune, MBA ’14 This article was written in response to a seminar given by Randall Ledford, PhD, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Emerson Electric Co. in an EDGE Seminar on Oct. 9, 2013 at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. After seeing the bodies pile up following the first big wave […]