Way of Being

The United States has embraced clean technology relatively aggressively, but is it enough? In particular, is it enough in comparison to the pace of clean tech development in China? I addressed this topic September 28 at the AlwaysOn GoingGreen 2011 conference, and the answer is that the U.S. isn’t doing enough. China is much more aggressive than the United States in developing clean technology projects and could dominate clean technology development globally for many years to come. Consider, for example, the stark contrast between the construction of the hydroelectric Three Gorges Dam spanning China’s Yangtze River with the development in […]

Although venture capitalists have taken a battering in the renewables sector, as seen in the sorry Solyndra saga, investors continue to see value in smart grid investments, biofuels and electric vehicles.

But the stakes are usually high, the capital costs expensive and the path to profit unclear in uncertain political and economic times in the US. But the gains for the US economy are clear.

August 2, 2011  source: this post appeared originally at Xconomy For a first-time entrepreneur, dealing with a venture capitalist can involve an equal mix of excitement and apprehension. If the VC has any sort of reputation or prominence, entrepreneurs are often grateful simply to be pitching their idea in the first place. Should discussions get far enough along that a term sheet is offered, a new entrepreneur is usually thrilled beyond words. Those certainly were my emotions back in my entrepreneurial youth, the first time I dealt with venture capitalists. It was one of the most exciting times of my […]

July 13, 2011  source: GigaOm Raise money when you can Who: Nat Goldhaber, General Partner Claremont Creek Ventures Bubble Cred: In 1994, Goldhaber founded an early web-advertising platform called CyberGold. In 1999, the company filed for an IPO and was valued at several hundred million dollars, or what we now call “ a rounding error,” says Goldhaber. Interviewed by Cortney Fielding Lessons Learned: Raise money when you can. If there is a bubble, why not take advantage of it before it bursts? While the lean startup movement is gaining momentum and many are touting the virtues of only taking what […]

Q&A with Nat Goldhaber on the Three Mile Island crisis By Peter Delevett Mercury News Columnist Nat Goldhaber may have the most offbeat resume of any venture capitalist in Silicon Valley. In early 1979, he was a few weeks into a job running energy policy for Pennsylvania’s new governor — a post for which he cheerfully admits he was unqualified — when the Three Mile Island meltdown happened. The front-row seat to America’s worst nuclear disaster helped shape Goldhaber’s subsequent career as an energy investor, but it wasn’t even the most colorful chapter in his career: That honor belongs to founding […]

Nat Goldhaber, managing director of Claremont Creek Ventures in Oakland, said a monster showing by BrightSource could spark a “Google effect” that leaves investors as enthusiastic about pioneering energy firms as they have been about information technology. May 3, 2011  source: New York Times BrightSource Energy Inc.’s plan to go public this year could spur a wave of clean technology startups looking to follow suit if investors flock to the solar developer in large numbers, experts say. The Oakland-based company recently filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to start the initial public offering process, following the example of others […]

April 21, 2011  source: Gigaom When it comes to clean-energy investing 2.0, venture capitalists are beyond looking for the silver bullet — or the magic battery –- they spent the last decade hunting and hoping for. Today, VCs are more likely to invest their dollars in slightly less ambitious energy-efficiency projects, Paul Kedrosky, senior fellow at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, told the audience at GigaOM’s Green:Net conference. Kedrosky sat down with a panel of VC heavy hitters for a discussion on what’s hot and what’s not in the second wave of clean-tech investing. And what’s hot, they all agreed […]

March 28, 2011 source: CNN News Nat Goldhaber was interviewed by CNN News about his role during the Three Mile Island nuclear accident. He was at the time in charge of energy issues for the state of Pennsylvania and began his day about 7 a.m. with a call telling him that there had been a major accident at Three Mile Island and that radiation was heading toward the town of Goldsboro. America’s worst nuclear accident: 32nd anniversary of Three Mile Island As Japan struggles with a nuclear crisis at a power plant damaged during the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, […]

March 23, 2011 source: Building 43 Videos – Robert Scoble interview — “… Very little has changed since 1979-1980 in energy [management]…” Nat Goldhaber (1′ 30″ into video) Much of the technology-related startup news today is focused on companies in the social media or Internet application spaces. Today, however, we are meeting with Claremont Creek Ventures, a venture capital firm that invests in, among others, early stage cleantech and healthcare companies. “One of the things that distinguishes us from a lot of other VCs that are investing in this area is that we are really very early stage,” explains Nat […]

February 10, 2011 source:  greentechmedia A conversation with Nat Goldhaber How does a startup get into batteries? The first wave tried to produce their own battery cells. While some, such as A123 Systems and Boston-Power, have managed to build factories, it’s taken hundreds of millions of dollars to pull off, and most of the others have blown up like a Dell notebook stuffed with shorted 18650 lithium cobalt cells. Others like Envia Systems have built battery components. Maybe someday that will work out. The next wave, and potentially the most successful in the long run, could revolve around the traditional […]