Ranked #1 in the World
Hey there! My name is Debarshi Das, and I’m a May 2008 graduate from Thunderbird. Along with my peers who are also contributing to this blog, I’d like to take a moment to introduce myself. In August 2008, I began work for Clipper Windpower, a U.S.-based wind energy company focused on the design, manufacturing and global sales of our Liberty 2.5MW wind turbines. The company has grown to more than 800 employees worldwide and is based in Carpinteria, Calif., with European headquarters in London.
My role with the organization is manager of commercial transactions, which is part of the commercial operations team that drives new business development globally. It’s a very exciting time to join the wind industry and to be at an entrepreneurial and rapidly expanding U.S.-based company that is “part of the solution.”
My background prior to Thunderbird includes six years as a project manager and process engineer at Procter & Gamble and a B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.
In my future blogging, I hope to provide the perspectives of a new entrant into this industry and the exciting challenges that face me, my organization, and my industry in these hopeful yet uncertain times.
To start things off, I’ve got a topic where I’d like to hear your opinions: Renewable energy development in less-developed countries (LDCs).
Large-scale renewable energy projects are capital-intensive and generally require a well-established infrastructure to execute. For developed countries, it’s a challenge but possible. But what about LDCs? How feasible is it? With essentials like funding, infrastructure and skilled labor often in short supply, the odds can be stacked against them.
However, some LDCs have an opportunity to diverge from the fossil fuel dependent path followed by more developed countries. So… how can it be done? Sustainably?
Best, Debarshi
January 23rd, 2009 at 4:03 pm
Debarshi, there are new efforts to develop wind power and wind power corporations among the Native Nations of the U.S., some of whom would fall into emerging market or LDC definition. I started work on a project like this some ten years ago and had intended to make it a PhD project as well as a viable company for the tribe. I had to give up the project to concentrte on the development of our CDFI (community development financial institution), but there is a new task force working on it again and the possibilities are very exciting (this is South Dakota after all and the wind never stops). However, one of the major barriers I faced related to infrastructur viability was the legal and political fighting that took place between the tribal nation and the electric coops, private and public landowners, transport line owners, etc. and their apparent feelings of being threatened or jealousy that the tribe might be developing something like this. Is this a problem in other parts of the world between countries, especially where the neighbor might be bigger and stronger (and wealthier when it comes to court cases) and slow down or stop this development?