Zero Carbon CEO Panel – Garald Cottrell

A Zero Carbon CEO Panel provided best practices and lessons learned from the burgeoning cleantech sector.  Here are some highlights from each of the four speakers:

Garald Cottrell said the recent change in his business is evidence of the quick speed of the cleantech world. Wellons Energy Solutions Group just this week purchased Cottrell’s Bio-Gen Energy Solutions.

Cottrell’s business uses biomass boilers to produce steam energy.  He said that there were 287 permitted boilers in North Carolina in 2006, but this is a technology that has existed for a century.

“This is not a new technology,” he said.  “All we’re doing is rebranding and repositioning.”

Cottrell said his business has been able to tap into consumer dissatisfaction with growing fossil fuel energy costs.  He said biomass technology can save consumers more 50 percent in yearly fuel costs.

While the burgeoning green movement has many social benefits, he said there must be a strong financial model.

“At the end of the day … it has to achieve financial metrics,” he said.