By Tony Hynes
PRWeek’s recent article about the impact that the Obama administration will have on the clean technology industry raises some good points – but misses the mark. While the stimulus package and the Obama administration’s belief that clean technology is the panacea to oil dependence are both undoubtedly fantastic developments, there are still significant hurdles.
With the exception of solar, the clean technology industry is in its infancy. While solar has had massive investment poured into it, nearly 200 start-ups world-wide, it is going to go through significant consolidation and will see some big profile failures. Maybe 10 of these start-ups are likely to have decent exit strategies. The credit crunch’s effect on this capital intensive industry is also a significant issue.
According to The New York Times clean technology still provides a glimmer of optimism in the investment community (at least based on 2008 data). However, as interest in the sector grows, some in the clean technology venture capital industry are noticing worrying trends – the growth of larger and larger funds, later stage investing, an increase in interest in capital-intensive parts of the sector (notably solar), and the focus into a few sub-sectors (again notably solar).
On the legislative side there is also a great deal of complexity, with government agencies and Congress often at odds with each other. The stimulus package discussed in the PRWeek article is the first in a triumvirate of likely federal legislation this year. We will also see the new energy bill that will likely include national renewable electricity standards and the Environmental Defense Fund sounds confident that there will be some sort of climate bill. However, set in the context of a dramatically worsening economy, a horrific deficit and differing state and federal agency agendas and it is not going to be an easy road. That’s even before we get into implementation.
To effectively manage these communications challenges I believe the PR industry needs to develop a deeper understanding of the real issues pertaining to national energy production, the nascent clean technology industry, its many permutations and the legislative developments that will shape it.
While on one level it is disheartening to see a relatively myopic view from the PR industry, it does show there’s significant opportunity for the firms that have the right mix of expertise.
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