2009 Prediction: Information TechTurns to Energy Opportunities

2009 is just around the corner, and with the new year, comes predictions. Cleantech Group Executive Chairman Nicholas Parker has come up with nine trends to watch for in 2009. What's dear to Tech2Green's heart is No. 7.

The IT and telecom industries over the last few years have started to get increasingly engaged in clean technology. Companies like IBM, Autodesk, Cisco and Intel are becoming ever more important.

What we’re seeing now, and this was particularly clear in India this year, is that the IT industry is seizing the energy opportunity as a chance to make money in this area. Whether it’s moving towards more integrated energy management systems or platforms, or smartening up the grids, or lowering carbon content in the supply chain, we see the IT industry turning on the taps this year and really rolling out new a range of products and offerings and driving a great deal of innovation in the cleantech space.

2009 will be the year IT turns its eyes to energy opportunities, not just in algorithms and software. For example, Intel is turning its quantum dot people, who’ve been working on next generation processors, to the solar challenge and opportunity, looking to develop new nano-based solar cells. We could well be in 10 years time calling Intel an energy company, in much the same way Applied Materials is becoming better known as a solar company.

Here are all nine of Parker's predictions:

1. Energy efficiency infrastructure boom initiated.

2. Global climate talks bog down—no serious deal until 2011/12.

3. U.S. passes national Renewable Portfolio Standard, but cap and trade bill only in 2010.

4. Wind stocks come back; thin film photovoltaics shakeout.

5. Clean technology venture capital stabilizes at $7 billion globally; private equity more active.

6. Failure rate of clean-tech startups doubles.

7. IT turns to the energy opportunity.

8. R&D stagnates; corporations acquire green growth assets.

9. Energy-water-food nexus emerges.

Report: Info Tech Seen Reducing CO2 Emissions Significantly

Much must and can be done by the information and communications technology (ICT) industries to reduce their own carbon emissions. But a just-released addendum to last June’s study for the Global e-Sustainability Initiative, Smart 2020: Enabling the Low Carbon Economy in the Information Age says ITC can help reduce 97% of emissions for the rest of the economy.

Written by the Boston Consulting Group for Ge-SI, the addendum says information and communications technologies are powerful enablers because they give people the information to understand how carbon emissions hurt the environment and the economy. Technology can furnish energy-efficient alternatives to manual, mechanical and physical processes to reduce emissions. According to the addendum:

Replacing physical experiences with virtual experiences, providing information to make better decisions, or cutting waste where it won’t be noticed are just some examples. The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy recently issued a report estimating that for every kilowatt hour of energy consumed by ICT, the U.S. economy increases its overall energy savings by a factor of 10. The report cites investment in ICT as a major factor in allowing both the population and economy of the U.S. to grow faster than its energy consumption.

ICT’s capacity to enable energy efficiency can help the economy and reduce the effects of climate change. By 2020, the ICT solutions outlined in this report can reduce an estimated 810 million to 1,410 million metric tons of CO2 from the U.S. baseline of emissions, representing a 13% to 22% reduction in the federal Energy Information Administration’s business-as-usual scenario. This translates to gross savings of $140 billion to $240 billion in avoided electricity and fuel costs. These savings also have significant national security implications as they translate to a reduction in total oil consumption of 11% to 21% and a reduction in dependence on imported oil of 20% to 36%. The range of estimates depends on the rate of adoption of ICT solutions.

In addition to the CO2 abatements sized by this report, ICT can be a powerful lever to change and influence behavior, because it touches the daily lives of people and provides powerful tools for understanding their decisions. ICT’s impact spans beyond technology; it enables the creation of radically new low-carbon business models. For example, ICT can ease coordination among different users to enable services like car-sharing or appliance-sharing to replace individual ownership. These solutions can help reduce the embedded carbon from manufacturing more goods. Thus, ICT’s ability to create transformative change makes it a critical pillar in an energy strategy for a sustainable and prosperous America.

Here's more from the addendum (click on charts to enlarge):