Topic of the 2nd St.Gallen Forum for Management of Renewable Energies

Clean & Competitive - The Renewable Future Starts Today: Being competitive with clean energy today?

There is widespread consensus that renewable energy is the energy of the future. The Forum 2011 looked at the potentials of today, because

• wind energy grows by 30 % annually
• renewable energies are competitive already today
• the winners of tomorrow now set the course for their success in future

"Clean & Competitive - The Renewable Future Starts Today" expresses our perception of the current state of renewable energies: Clean, low-carbon energy source are already profitable. The 2nd St.Gallen Forum emphasized this thesis in order to set the course for future success as well as to leverage today's potentials.

The wind energy has moved beyond its infancy many years ago and is now an established industry with annual growth rates of 30% and more. To benefit from opportunities, investors, technology providers, project developers, entrepreneurs and politicians need to share their experiences and gather insights from other industries as well as from management research. Our Forum enables these dialogues.

However, wind energy is by no means the only energy form to provide attractive business opportunities. From the very old approaches to hydro power to the most advanced technologies in photovoltaic, earning profits and reducing carbon-intensive or environmentally-hazardous technologies is possible today. We think back to March 2010, when Dr. H Harish Hande inspired with his keynote during the 1st St.Gallen Forum for Management of Renewable Energies: His company SELCO Solar's operations are profitable - not in India's flourishing exporting business, but by supporting the very low income population of southern India to purchase solar home systems. Here in Switzerland, Germany and whole north western Europe, we need smart business models, innovations for energy efficiency and collaborations beyond the solar industry. Our Forum provides a platform for the required knowledge sharing when e.g. Mary Turner will explain who she leverages her experience from the broadband technology industry to head AlertMe innovating and selling energy efficiency devices for household consumers.

The future of transportation is electric - is it really? What we can say with certainty is that the leading companies in future set the course today. Who waits too long, misses the trend. Without further notice, new market players enter the energy industry willing to act now rather than later. These may be incumbents from other industries or new emerging start-ups such as Better Place striving for large-scale change in the industry. In these uncertain contexts, research informs us how decision-making of investors, consumers and political leaders is influenced.