ABSTRACT
When I began working in the energy management and financing industry, “lack of capital” was the prevailing excuse why a good project (less than a 3-year payback) was not being approved/implemented. When I did my Ph.D. research on this topic, about 35% of projects were postponed/canceled due to “lack of upfront capital.” Despite my best efforts to solve this problem throughout my career, today the postponed percentage is closer to 50%! Looking at this trend, I can say that I have not succeeded at this goal. Although the global economy does have an influence on the percent of projects that are being initiated/financed, I still believe strongly that we can do MUCH more in this area to get more projects implemented that save energy, improve economic competitiveness and enable environmental prosperity.
