One of the challenges for significantly expanding the use of renewable energies is the fact that our current power infrastructure is massive and involves a relatively small number of power companies nationally. Thus, most all residential and manufacturing entities are tied to the local grids of these power companies and limited in their ability to change their carbon emissions impact (or footprint).
A new company called Clearloop, however, aims to change all that. The company, introduced by former Tennessee governor Phil Bredesen,, plans to provide short-term agreements for companies to increase their sustainability efforts by essentially offsetting the company’s carbon emissions level via funding of solar panels for areas with the worst “dirty” electric power grids. This could be done on a product by product or service by service basis to determine the total current C-emissions level. After the company purchases a corresponding level of solar panels, Customers who purchase the company’s products would also find a symbol on the product that will actually track back to the exact solar panel grids that are purchased through the agreement.
The advantage to this approach is that now smaller companies, not the power companies, can contribute to sustainability growth without getting into the details of energy management themselves; i.e. they are relying on Clearloop’s expertise to simplify if for them. It’s a novel new approach and one that can seemingly expedite renewable energy growth.
On the other end, Mr. Bredesen also has a connection. He launched a solar panel company called Silicon Ranch in 2011 which just inked a $217 deal with Shell Oil last year to be their U.S. solar platform. So there should be ample solar panel availability for the Clearloop agreements.
Clearloop will focus their solar panel installations in areas most dependent on coal-fire powered electricity which includes states such as West Virginia, Kentucky, Wyoming and the Dakotas. Bredesen believes that making an impact on carbon emissions has to been on a large scale and thus believes Clearloop can be a major player in the transformation to renewable energies.
It’s not everything that will be needed, but Clearloop is creating a buzz on new ways to ‘connect the dots’ for renewable energy growth.
Clearloop aims to put solar panels in dirty grid states through agreements with corporations.