The energy industry is one of the largest in the U.S., and is central to the operation of the economy. Currently it is undergoing rapid and possibly dramatic changes. Those changes and the factors driving them are the subject of this course.

The course starts with an analysis of the factors driving changes in energy markets – the rise in oil prices, geopolitical and energy security concerns, and climate change and the need to decarbonize the economy. This introductory section will also review the regulatory framework of the energy industry.

The next section of the course will focus on specific energy types and their economic and commercial characteristics. These will include solar thermal, solar PV, biofuels of various types, geothermal, wind, tidal, nuclear and then the use of energy in transportation (hybrid vehicles, hydrogen vehicles, electric vehicles). For each of these energy types we will talk about its general characteristics and then profile a company developing this energy type.

Finally we will talk about the financing of new energy ventures.

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Geoffrey Heal

Donald C. Waite III Professor of Social Enterprise

Geoffrey Heal, Donald C. Waite III Professor of Social Enterprise at Columbia Business School, is noted for contributions to economic theory and resource and environmental economics. He holds bachelors (first class), masters and doctoral degrees from Cambridge University, where he studied at Churchill College and taught at Christ’s College. He has also taught at Sussex, Essex, Yale, Stanford, École Polytechnique, Stockholm and...

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