Today's episode is about clean energy, green hydrogen, and decarbonization. Our guest, Sheldon Kimber, has over 20 years of experience in energy finance, development, and entrepreneurship. He is currently CEO and Founder of Intersect Power, a clean infrastructure company bringing utility-scale energy and storage solutions to wholesale customers, delivering value and viability to both energy buyers and asset investors. Professor Severin Borenstein who is an expert on these topics also joins us in this conversation.

Sheldon spent five years at Calpine, working on finance and development of gas-fired power projects. He also worked as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs, and in Accenture’s strategy consulting practice, specializing in power-price forecasting and asset valuation projects for utility clients.

In this episode, Sheldon shares his origin story, his professional career, and his time at Haas where his interest in clean energy and clean technology escalated.

We also get to hear about the company he founded, Intersect Power, what it is currently doing, its plans for the future, and how Haasies can join its vision in building a clean energy future.

Episode Quotes:

The best thing you can do as an entrepreneur

"I think the best entrepreneurs are people who do feel a sense of obligation to the people who work with them or for them. The best entrepreneurs are, first and foremost, servants to their people, because I think, at the end of the day, in this day and age, pulling together great teams of people is what builds value in almost any industry. And if you, as a leader, aren't really a servant to your people and really focused on that being the number one thing, it's pretty much the most valuable thing you can do. And I don't know, there's a lot of people that'll tell you how smart they are and how visionary they are and all of that, but I think, at the end of the day, I've found that creating an environment that is more caring and open and transparent is probably the best thing you can do as an entrepreneur."

Why he founded Intersect Power

"Intersect was actually born out of two questions. One was, it's clear that renewables are just getting cheaper and cheaper. So, what happens when renewable power, at certain times of day in certain locations, is so cheap you just either can't or shouldn't put all of it on the grid, it's just not necessary, it's not needed, you can't even get it to where it needs to go? That's one question. And the second question was, how do I never wind up having a utility between me and my customer ever again? I didn't necessarily solve that second one, but those were the two big problem statements or questions that I was most focused on."

Having a small team that is aligned with the company's vision

"When you can prove that you're able to do much, much more with less on the overhead side, people, they step back and let you get the results, which is what we want to do. I'd much rather have a small group of people who are the absolute best, the pinnacle of the industry, that are willing to work their tails off, but are expecting to get compensated pretty highly and are also, they're used to being treated in a certain way, having information shared with them, having a clear and transparent view of the company's strategy, being treated like peers and leaders and strategic thinkers. And I think I'd rather create that environment and that's what we've done here. And I think, because you remain lean and can control your overhead, your investors usually go along with that because they're seeing the results they need, because people—they're happy, they're plugged into the vision.

How can Haasies help?

"For Haas folks, it's important to understand the ties that Intersect has culturally to some of our roots at Haas. And so, when we talk about challenging the status quo and confidence without attitude, these are the types of values that are at the absolute core of Intersect. We are confident people. I do think we're the best at what we do. And that's important to believe that. But at the same time, exercising a certain level of humility to understand some of these new things you have to go in. …you know, I had a meeting with a CEO of a wind company the other day, and I started by saying, ‘We're getting into wind….I have no idea what that means, really, you know? So I first want you to know that there’s no pride here, please help me.’

So, I think, when you step back and look at the cultures of our organization versus the school, there are a lot of overlaps, a lot of similarities. And I think that makes Haas folks a really good fit for us. And we have a lot of Haas folks already that work with us and a lot of Cal folks that work with us. We're also just whip-smart. I do think we are the best. We're confident about that. And I think that also matches up really well with Haas because I think there are a lot of really talented people looking to make a difference in the world. And we're a great place to come to work if that's what you're looking to do with your life."

Show Links:

• Sheldon Kimber
• “The Nexus of Deep Decarbonization” Blog by Sheldon Kimber
• Professor Severin Borenstein
• Intersect Power
• Intersect Power Job Opportunities

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