Publications

01 Mar 2013
News

Delivering the Power to Dream Big

lightweight, transparent solar panels, which can be integrated seamlessly into everyday objects, like windows or electronic displays. The technology's promise could lead to widespread adoption of solar power and reduce its cost by... View Details

Keywords: solar power; Electric Power Generation, Transmission, Distribution; Electric Power Generation, Transmission, Distribution

22 Sep 2016
News

Building a Green Energy Grid

I figured the world didn’t need another wind developer as much as it needed someone who could figure out the transmission problem.” The complexity of expanding the US electric grid becomes clear when Skelly describes Clean Line’s $2.5... View Details

September–October 2024
Article

Should a Family Business Accept a Returning Daughter’s Radical Proposal?

By: John D. Macomber

A family-owned and controlled conglomerate in Cote d'Ivoire, West Africa, has to decide what titles and authority to give to a daughter who is being courted to leave a promising career in Europe to come back and join the business. The choices of role range from an... View Details

Keywords: Succession Planning; Power Grid; Family Business; Management Succession; Emerging Markets; Business Strategy; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Côte d'Ivoire

03 Feb 2021
News

Power Play

distributor, to fund large-scale battery storage and solar power in New York City as it works to reduce fossil-fuel pollution, upgrade aging infrastructure and systems, and move its electric grid to between... View Details

Keywords: Maureen Harmon

21 Nov 2019
Blog Post

The Power of Business in the Energy Transition

can play critical roles in the energy transformation. Keynotes from business leaders such as Michael Skelly (MBA 1991), Advisor at Lazard, and Patricia DiOrio, VP of National Grid US Strategy outlined the continued development needed for... View Details

Keywords: Manufacturing; Energy / Cleantech

2025
Working Paper

Residential Battery Storage - Reshaping The Way We Do Electricity

By: Christian Kaps and Serguei Netessine

In this paper, we aim to understand when private households invest in behind-the-meter battery storage next to rooftop solar and how those batteries impact households, the electricity market, and emissions. We answer three main research questions: 1) When do customers... View Details

Keywords: Solar Power; Energy Storage; Technology And Innovation Management; Energy; Energy Policy; Renewable Energy; Technological Innovation; Innovation and Management; Energy Industry

SSRN

22 Jul 2022
Blog Post

Climate Stories Episode #7: Turning Waste Heat to Power

Climate Stories Episode #7: Turning Waste Heat to Power Episode 7 of Climate Stories focuses on Janice Tran and her first two years as CEO and co-founder of Kanin Energy. Trained as an accountant, the Canadian-born 35-year old daughter of... View Details

June 2015 (Revised August 2018)
Case

American Electric Power: Facing the Challenges of Distributed Generation

By: Richard H.K. Vietor and Hilary White

American Electric Power, like most utilities in the USA, is currently exposed to distributed generation and the problem of net-metering. Solar installations in particular have been heavily subsidized, by the state and by regulation, which does not allow grid operators... View Details

21 Nov 2017
News

Alumni Peer into the Future of Energy

Their answers suggest that clean power will take off over the next decade or so, but hydrocarbon fuels will remain dominant. The E & E Club teamed up with the Business and Environment Initiative (BEI) to host the receptions—one in New... View Details

Keywords: Margie Kelley; solar power; wind power

08 Mar 2012
Research & Ideas

Unplugged: What Happened to the Smart Grid?

Replacing the antiquated electrical system in the United States with a super-efficient smart grid always seemed a surefire way to strengthen the economy, improve society, and provide endless opportunities for entrepreneurs. Big... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Energy; Utilities

November 2019 (Revised April 2021)
Technical Note

Rechargeable Batteries, 2017: Gigafactory Wars in the Offing?

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

In 2017, the global market for rechargeable lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries was 126 gigawatt-hours (GWh) valued at $37 billion, growing by $10 billion in two years. Once confined largely to consumer electronics and appliances, the rapid increase in demand was spurred by... View Details

July 2019 (Revised May 2021)
Case

Acelerex

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

In early 2019, Randell Johnson, Founder and Chief Executive of Acelerex, was reflecting on the company’s first year of rapid growth and the challenges of scaling the business that lay ahead. Acelerex was riding the waves of change taking place in electrical power grids... View Details

Keywords: Energy; Energy Sources; Growth Management; Expansion; Global Strategy; Cash Flow; Energy Industry; Web Services Industry; Consulting Industry

30 Sep 2002
Research & Ideas

Your Crisis Response Plan: The Ten Effective Elements

should represent a broad range of potential emergency situations that the organization could plausibly face. Examples include: shooter on site, epidemic, bomb threat, major fire, major external terrorist attack, major economic dislocation, infrastructure failure (power... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Watkins

January 2025
Case

GE Appliances 2025: Energizing Change

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Jacob A. Small

At the turn of 2025, Kevin Nolan, CEO of GE Appliances following its acquisition by Chinese appliance giant Haier in 2016, is reviewing progress toward his net zero carbon vision for homes, which would otherwise exacerbate the global warming climate crisis. An... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Transformation; Climate Change; Environmental Sustainability; Technological Innovation

14 Jun 2012
Working Paper Summaries

“Power from Sunshine”: A Business History of Solar Energy

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones & Loubna Bouamane; Energy; Utilities

July 2018 (Revised July 2018)
Teaching Note

Argentina Power—Don’t Cry for Me Argentina

By: Nori Gerardo Lietz and Sayiddah Fatima McCree

Teaching Note for HBS No. 218-041. This case concerns a complex potential energy infrastructure investment in Argentina by a global conglomerate shortly after Mauricio Macri (“Macri”) became President of Argentina in 2015. The central issues are (i) why was a country... View Details

Keywords: Argentina; Argentine Exceptionalism; Infrastructure Finance; Investing; Finance; Inflation and Deflation; Government and Politics; Energy Generation; Infrastructure; Utilities Industry; Energy Industry; Financial Services Industry; Argentina; South America