The founders of Generation Investment Management LLP (link) are the aptly named team of David Blood and Al Gore. Below are excerpts from their website, describing the firm:
Ausra Secures $US60.6 Million in Funding
KERN, Generation and Starfish Join Kleiner Perkins and Khosla Ventures to back Ausras cost-competitive technology and global expansion
PALO ALTO, CALIF. October 2, 2008 Ausra, Inc., the provider of large-scale solar thermal energy systems for industrial processes and utility electricity generation, has secured $US60.6 million ($76.7 million) in its latest preferred equity financing. Investors in this closing....also included Generation Investment Management, based in London, England.... The investor group committed these funds in support of Ausras reliable, costcompetitive technology, seasoned management team and global expansion. We are very pleased to have such prestigious investors join our team to assist Ausra in achieving its goals in the solar thermal energy market, said Bob Fishman, president, CEO and chairman of Ausra. This round of financing will enable us to accelerate delivery of our technology to our customers.
Proceeds from Ausras financing will fund the companys research and product development and commercial activities, including the completion of its 5-megawatt solar thermal power project near Bakersfield, Calif. the first power plant in North America to incorporate Ausras core technology, the Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector solar collector and steam generation system. This facility will further lead to the development and construction of a 177-megawatt solar
thermal power plant for Pacific Gas and Electric Company in central California. Ausras technology has significant advantages for its customers in cost, scalability, zero emissions and land-use efficiency. The companys first commercial project, located in NSW, is currently under expansion. The facility will augment power production at an adjacent conventional power station later this quarter, allowing it to create the same amount of electricity
using less coal.
Ausra news release - p. 2 of 2
Ausras pioneering solar thermal technology was developed and first deployed in Australia by one of the companys founders, Dr. David Mills. As Australia prepares to reduce its carbon footprint, Ausras solar thermal technology has the potential to play a significant role in both small and large-scale power generation and industrial process steam applications. The companys subsidiary, Ausra Pty Ltd, is focused on expanding Ausras Australian operations.
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Thus, there are big, profitable dollars at stake. As most know, Al Gore lives rather nicely, thank you. And his "carbon footprint" is not modest at all (link, excerpts below):
Armed with Gore's utility bills for the last two years, the Tennessee Center for Policy Research charged Monday that the gas and electric bills for the former vice president's 20-room home and pool house devoured nearly 221,000 kilowatt-hours in 2006, more than 20 times the national average of 10,656 kilowatt-hours.
"If this were any other person with $30,000-a-year in utility bills, I wouldn't care," says the Center's 27-year-old president, Drew Johnson. "But he tells other people how to live and he's not following his own rules."
This is really eye opening. Picture of Gore's house below:
About Us
Overview
Generation is an independent, private, owner-managed partnership with offices in London and New York. The firm was co-founded in 2004 by Al Gore and David Blood.
Sustainable Investing for the Long Term Generation's investment approach is based on the idea that sustainability factorseconomic, environmental, social and governance criteriawill drive a company's returns over the long term. By integrating sustainability issues with traditional analysis, we aim to deliver superior investment returns.
We are closely aligned with our clients, and our performance is measured over the long term.
Some of their investments seem to be quite massive and profitable (link, excerpts below):Overview
Generation is an independent, private, owner-managed partnership with offices in London and New York. The firm was co-founded in 2004 by Al Gore and David Blood.
Sustainable Investing for the Long Term Generation's investment approach is based on the idea that sustainability factorseconomic, environmental, social and governance criteriawill drive a company's returns over the long term. By integrating sustainability issues with traditional analysis, we aim to deliver superior investment returns.
We are closely aligned with our clients, and our performance is measured over the long term.
Ausra Secures $US60.6 Million in Funding
KERN, Generation and Starfish Join Kleiner Perkins and Khosla Ventures to back Ausras cost-competitive technology and global expansion
PALO ALTO, CALIF. October 2, 2008 Ausra, Inc., the provider of large-scale solar thermal energy systems for industrial processes and utility electricity generation, has secured $US60.6 million ($76.7 million) in its latest preferred equity financing. Investors in this closing....also included Generation Investment Management, based in London, England.... The investor group committed these funds in support of Ausras reliable, costcompetitive technology, seasoned management team and global expansion. We are very pleased to have such prestigious investors join our team to assist Ausra in achieving its goals in the solar thermal energy market, said Bob Fishman, president, CEO and chairman of Ausra. This round of financing will enable us to accelerate delivery of our technology to our customers.
Proceeds from Ausras financing will fund the companys research and product development and commercial activities, including the completion of its 5-megawatt solar thermal power project near Bakersfield, Calif. the first power plant in North America to incorporate Ausras core technology, the Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector solar collector and steam generation system. This facility will further lead to the development and construction of a 177-megawatt solar
thermal power plant for Pacific Gas and Electric Company in central California. Ausras technology has significant advantages for its customers in cost, scalability, zero emissions and land-use efficiency. The companys first commercial project, located in NSW, is currently under expansion. The facility will augment power production at an adjacent conventional power station later this quarter, allowing it to create the same amount of electricity
using less coal.
Ausra news release - p. 2 of 2
Ausras pioneering solar thermal technology was developed and first deployed in Australia by one of the companys founders, Dr. David Mills. As Australia prepares to reduce its carbon footprint, Ausras solar thermal technology has the potential to play a significant role in both small and large-scale power generation and industrial process steam applications. The companys subsidiary, Ausra Pty Ltd, is focused on expanding Ausras Australian operations.
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Al Gore's 'Inconvenient Truth'? -- A $30,000 Utility Bill
Think Tank Blasts Gore for Hypocrisy, Defenders Call Report a
Last Gasp from Warming Skeptics
Back home in Tennessee, safely ensconced in his suburban Nashville home, Vice President Al Gore is no doubt basking in the Oscar awarded to "An Inconvenient Truth," the documentary he inspired and in which he starred. But a local free-market think tank is trying to make that very home emblematic of what it deems Gore's environmental hypocrisy. Think Tank Blasts Gore for Hypocrisy, Defenders Call Report a
Last Gasp from Warming Skeptics
Armed with Gore's utility bills for the last two years, the Tennessee Center for Policy Research charged Monday that the gas and electric bills for the former vice president's 20-room home and pool house devoured nearly 221,000 kilowatt-hours in 2006, more than 20 times the national average of 10,656 kilowatt-hours.
"If this were any other person with $30,000-a-year in utility bills, I wouldn't care," says the Center's 27-year-old president, Drew Johnson. "But he tells other people how to live and he's not following his own rules."
