Green Drinks April Forum, How Clean is Clean Energy? | Earth Day 2019 Special

Alternative energy sources offer us ways to power homes, businesses and vehicles without having to use fossil fuels. The concept of renewable energy is to use the power of nature to generate electricity for our needs, rather than exploit nonrenewable resources that only further release carbon into the atmosphere, thus accelerating global warming.

But, how clean is clean energy?

While these energy sources create jobs, improve public health, create energy independence, emit less carbon into the atmosphere, it must be noted that whether it is a solar panel or wind turbine – these consume a LOT of resources to build.

Our monthly forum with Andy Klump and Loic Bastard aims to discuss the challenges, opportunities, realities, trade-offs and the future of renewable energy and the industry as a whole.

After Green Initiatives’ 100th film screening, SWITCH, which provides a big picture of the renewable energy space, our forum will explore the questions:

• What are the resources consumed by the solar and wind industry?
• Is the solar industry contributing to global warming through the greenhouse gases that emits?
• How much energy does a wind turbine supply and how harmful it is to the environment?
• What are the advantages and disadvantages for each?
• How much renewable energy does China use and is China leading compared to other countries?
• What can we expect from China in the next 10 years?
• How big a threat does cheap oil pose to both industry (wind and solar)?

Join us to better understand the entire issue shaping the world’s energy needs for the future.

About the Speakers

Andy Klump, Solar Energy pro. BA in Economics from Northwestern University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

I am an international renewable energy executive with over 15 years of work experience in China. I primarily have been based in Shanghai, but also spent three years in Beijing and two years working at a factory in Changzhou where I helped take the company Trina Solar public in 2006 on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: TSL). Currently, I live in the Puxi side of Shanghai with my family.

Businesses: Since founding my current business Clean Energy Associates (CEA) in Hong Kong in 2008, I have set up entities in Shanghai, China, USA and Chile to support CEA’s platform and international growth. Our company has worked with clients in over 45 countries and I oversee a team in the US, China, the Philippines, India, Australia, Germany, Spain, Italy and the UK. CEA’s team of 75 + solar and storage professionals provides advisory services with a specialization in quality assurance, supply chain management and engineering services. Additionally, as an individual, I have invested in both technology and development platforms in three different continents across the renewable energy sector and have served as a board member of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) in the US as well as a European and Chinese inverter joint venture.

Loic Bastard, Wind Turbine Designer
Head of Department at Envision, a leading digital energy company. Loic is a technological expert and will share the makings and operations of wind turbines.

I am a mechanical engineer with 2 master science. One in material sciences and one in mechanics specialized in structural analysis. I work for Envision Energy since January 2015, I am department head leading the team in charge of the simulation and numerical analysis of mechanical systems. My work in Envision (and the work of my team) is to define methods and develop new tools to predict the wind turbine behavior using computers and make sure the models we use are fast and accurate. These tools we develop allow to better design the systems, reduce its cost and invent new solution to improve performance and safety. Prior to Envision I worked more than 10 years for Siemens on Wind Turbine Digital Twin.

In 2016 I have been honored to receive the distinction of China National Foreign Expert delivered in the frame of the 1000 foreign expert program.

A Word about Envision Energy. It is a Chinese private company based in Jiangyin (Jiangsu) and Shanghai. Envision Energy design and manufacture wind turbines and energy management software to solve the energetic transition challenge of our Planet. Recently Envision engaged in battery power cells design and manufacture by acquiring ex Nissan electrical battery company AESC.