Publications

November 2012 (Revised April 2013)
Case

Colbún and the Future of Chile's Power

By: Forest Reinhardt and Shon R. Hiatt

This case is about Colbún, Chile's second largest electricity generator, which is facing significant uncertainty regarding the cost and availability of alternative energy sources. Problems with the contracted supply of natural gas and the volatility of oil prices,... View Details

Keywords: Energy; Chile; Environmental Protection; Energy Generation; Energy Industry; South America; Chile

21 May 2014
Working Paper Summaries

The Role of the Corporation in Society: An Alternative View and Opportunities for Future Research

Keywords: by George Serafeim

May 2020
Teaching Note

Big Boom Beverages: Fight or Flight? (Brief Case)

By: Stephen A. Greyser and William Ellet

Teaching Note for HBS Brief Case No. 920-557. The case addresses analysis and decisions related to the entrepreneurial life of a distinctive energy beverage, including its niche market launch, early problems, reformulation, social media impact, market success, and... View Details

Keywords: Alcoholic Beverages; Energy Drinks; Regulation; Entrepreneurship; Ethics; Marketing Communications; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Reputation; Communication Strategy; Decision Making

February 2021
Case

Yellow Digital Retailers: Providing Solar Electricity to Transform Rural Africa

By: Lynda M. Applegate, Frank V. Cespedes and Michael Norris

In 2020, Mike Heyink and Maya Stewart, co-founders of the Pay-as-you-Go Solar company Yellow were considering how to grow their startup. They had achieved some success in their first market, Malawi, and had recently entered Uganda, where business was slower. What did... View Details

Keywords: Solar Energy; Business Model; Business Startups; Developing Countries and Economies; Alternative Energy; Renewable Energy; Social Entrepreneurship; Green Technology; Salesforce Management; Diversification; Expansion; Energy Industry; Africa; South Africa; Malawi; Uganda

27 Mar 2025
Blog Post

IFC India 2025: Driving India's EV Future: Insights from Ather Scooter and Exponent Energy

challenges traditional manufacturing norms and promotes inclusivity. This commitment to diversity reflects a broader goal of aligning the green transition with social impact and equity. Exponent EnergyExponent Energy is addressing one of... View Details

March 2019
Article

Economics of Converting Renewable Power to Hydrogen

By: Gunther Glenk and Stefan Reichelstein

The recent sharp decline in the cost of renewable energy suggests that the production of hydrogen from renewable power through a power-to-gas process might become more economical. Here we examine this alternative from the perspective of an investor who considers a... View Details

Find at Harvard

Read Now

January 2023 (Revised December 2023)
Case

OhmConnect: Energizing the Future

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Jennifer Fonstad and Nicole Tempest Keller

Founded in 2013, OhmConnect was a free consumer web app that alerted customers about peak hours of electricity demand, and paid them to lower their energy use at home during these periods. The company sold the aggregated reductions generated by thousands of households... View Details

Keywords: App Development; Renewable Energy; Electricity Usage; Regulations; VC; Technology; Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC); Scalability; Applications and Software; Growth and Development Strategy; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Business Model; Venture Capital; Energy Industry; United States; California; Texas; Europe

19 Aug 2022
Blog Post

Climate Stories Episode #8: The Role of Solar and Wind Farming (and Other Tools) in the United States’ Clean Energy Future

Climate Stories Episode #8: The Role of Solar and Wind Farming (and Other Tools) in the United States’ Clean Energy Future Episode 8 of Climate Stories focuses on HBS alumna Diana Rivera, director of development for Lightsource bp. As a... View Details

22 Feb 2022
News

New Urban Order

greatest risk from the disastrous effects of sea-level rise. Yet cities also have the ability to act without waiting for state and federal action, adds Raphael Carty (MBA 1983), former CEO of Callida Energy, a software startup focused on reducing commercial-building... View Details

Keywords: Kathleen Fu, Deborah Blagg, Julia Hanna, and Maureen Harmon; illustrations by; energy; environment; sustainability; entrepreneurship; Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation; Transportation; Water, Sewage and Supply Systems; Utilities; Construction of Buildings; Construction; Waste Management and Remediation Services; Corporate Services

21 Aug 2017
News

Harvard Business School Professor Robert Blair Stobaugh, Jr. Dies at 89

18 Jul 2023
Research & Ideas

Will Global Demand for Oil Peak This Decade?

Is the globe’s thirst for oil finally topping out? A major international energy watcher says yes, predicting last month that demand for global oil for transport will peak around 2026, plateau for all uses by 2028, and possibly hit a zenith by the end of the decade.... View Details

Keywords: by Alvin Powell, Harvard Gazette; Energy; Industrial Products; Auto; Green Technology

Research Summary

Overview

Jurgen's research focuses on the challenges and opportunites to the energy sector created by technological change and externalities, in particular those associated with greenhouse gas emissons. Specific areas of interest include the development of potential pathways to... View Details

2016
White Paper

LNG and Renewable Power: Risk and Opportunity in a Changing World

By: Jurgen Weiss, Steven Levine, Yingxia Yang and Anul Thapa

The paper explores potential long-term revenue risks to LNG exports to the extent LNG competes with alternative energy sources (such as renewables) in LNG destination markets. Given the longevity of LNG infrastructure investments, the evolution of the attractiveness of... View Details

Keywords: LNG; Renewable Energy; Revenue; Risk and Uncertainty; Opportunities

Read Now

Lassiter argues that the world needs to get nuclear power back into the race against fossil fuels in order to avoid significant levels of CO2 emission-driven climate change. The world’s energy experts forecast that CO2 emissions will increase for the foreseeable... View Details

June 2009 (Revised December 2011)
Case

Colbún—Powering Chile

By: Forest L. Reinhardt, Gustavo A. Herrero and Sanjay Patnaik

This case is about Colbún, Chile's second largest electricity generator, which is facing significant uncertainty regarding the cost and availability of alternative energy sources. Problems with the contracted supply of natural gas and the volatility of oil prices,... View Details

Keywords: Non-Renewable Energy; Globalized Markets and Industries; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Government Legislation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Business and Government Relations; Climate Change; Business Strategy; Energy Industry; Chile

February 1996
Case

USX Corporation

By: Stuart C. Gilson and Jeremy Cott

A large diversified steel and energy firm is pressured by a corporate raider to spin off its steel business in order to increase its stock price. As an alternative to the spinoff, management proposes replacing the company's common stock with two new classes of... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Stocks; Valuation; Financial Institutions; Cash Flow

Bill Vrattos is a Senior Lecturer at the Harvard Business School, where he teaches Investment Strategies, a course on public market investing in the elective curriculum. He also co-teaches Private Equity Projects and Ecosystems, where he mentors student groups on... View Details

2022
Chapter

Capitalism and the Environment

By: Geoffrey Jones

Capitalism drove the environmental decimation of the planet. The environment was seen as a free good, while the consequences of dirty industrial and agricultural processes were seen as external to the firm. Public policies largely allowed this to happen, as politicians... View Details

Keywords: History; Environment; Sustainability; Capitalism; Ethics; Business History; Environmental Sustainability; Green Technology; Pollution; Climate Change