Andy Kruse was a cowboy living off the grid on a cattle ranch when he started building small wind turbines out of car alternators. Southwest Windpower went on to sell 175,000 of windmills around the world until they were overrun by the tidal wave of cheap solar. Now Andy runs Underwriter Laboratories’ HOMER Energy, the world leader in optimization software for microgrids that transforms energy CONsumers into PROsumers where our homes & buildings create energy, eliminate blackouts, and move us all to true energy independence.
SuperNova #1. We need to optimize energy technologies for each location and different times. Solar, Storage, Wind, Geothermal, Fuel Cells, & Grid Power.
SuperNova #2. Microgrids can lead to the end of blackouts. We are close to the day when every house will have a battery and solar generator, and where we can be producing energy for an indefinite period of time. When the grid goes down, you won’t even know it, and the house will think about what to turn off (ice defroster, wait for the laundry, etc…)
Ah-Ha: Around 2008 in the midst of the Great Recession, everyday people started to say “I want to reduce my energy bill and produce my own energy.”
Best Advice he’s ever received: Always be learning. Think in a 3-dimensional way – look at every idea from different angles.
Personal Success: Write down everything.
Internet Resources: https://microgridknowledge.com/
Book Recommendation: The Wind Power Story: A Century of Innovation that Reshaped the Global Energy Landscape by Brandon N. Owens
One thing that Energizes today. Evolution of the home. End of blackouts. Energy independence like we’ve never seen before.
Magic Wand. Equal access to science-based education
Parting Advice. Never Stop Learning– The world is evolving so fast. Write everything down. Always be connecting and develop the relationship– how they benefit from you and how you gain from them. We are all in this together. We have this one planet. There is only one race– the human race.
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