Hello, and welcome to Power Line, a weekly clean-energy newsletter from Business Insider.
Here's what you need to know:
It's 2020 and, well, there's still too much carbon dioxide in the air.
Can't we just vacuum it all up?
We can. Technically. In fact, loads of startups backed by billionaires are developing carbon capture and storage technologies. (That's why some seltzer is carbonated with what is essentially recycled pollution. Go green!)
But: Experts caution that carbon-capture tech isn't the silver bullet that'll rip climate change a new one. It's more like a tarnished bronze BB pellet that could, in years-time, make a dent.
Here's why:
It's 2020 and there are still not enough women working in energy.
LinkedIn data reveal energy's gender problem in new detail
I asked LinkedIn to run an analysis on gender in the energy sector and, well … the results are exactly as bad as you might expect.
LinkedIn also pulled numbers for me on new hires since 2014, which show how each industry is changing. Or not.
Why are there so few women in the energy industry?
"Perceptions of gender roles are seen as the most important barrier to entry into the sector."
- A gender report by the International Renewable Energy Agency
"Many times oil and gas, especially exploration, are not in the safest of places. There will be very few women on most offshore oil rigs. You can imagine that you would not necessarily want to be in such a remote place all by yourself with, like, one other woman."
- Cecilia Tam, a former energy analyst at the International Energy Agency, where she worked to advance gender equality
"The world around energy is intrinsically masculine."
- Katie Mehnert, founder and CEO of Pink Petro
This is bad. How can companies make it better?
Again, there are no silver bullets. Only bronze pellets (but together they can shatter … glass … ceilings? I'm reaching.)
A few experts I talked to shared their advice:
- Develop a more appealing value proposition. It's an especially exciting time to work in the energy industry, but that's not coming across to potential employees.
- Don't rely on internal referral programs to attract talent. "It generally perpetuates the same demographics as your existing workforce," Kristen Graf, the executive director of Women of Renewable Industries and Sustainable Energy said.
- Make sure job descriptions aren't biased towards men. That includes striking any skills from the requirements that aren't absolutely necessary, Graf said.
- Elevate female role models in senior roles. "Women could be turned off to applying to a sector if they feel that even if they can get an entry-level job their future progression could be limited because they don't see lots of other women at the top," Tam said.
The biggest names in US solar will soon announce earnings
Here's why it matters:
So who are the top players in solar?
Tesla: The answer is always Tesla.
Sunrun: The leading residential solar provider in the US.
- I chatted with Sunrun's VP of energy services, Audrey Lee, yesterday, who spoke about the value of rooftop solar for taking pressure off the grid during hours of peak energy demand.
- "People often underestimate - because, it's distributed - the amount of capacity that you could get from rooftop solar and batteries."
- For example: 75,000 homes in LA with solar and batteries could take a natural gas peaker plant off the grid, she told me.
Emphase: The company that makes microinverters.
- Inverters convert the electric current that solar panels generate into a form of energy that you can use in your home.
- Enphase dominated the stock market last year, with returns of over 450%. Inverters. Who knew?
Upcoming earnings calls
2 big stories I didn't cover
Finally, here are this week's top startup updates
That's it! Have a great weekend.
- Benji