Watt It Takes: BlocPower CEO Donnel Baird
Energy Gang14 Tammi 2021

Watt It Takes: BlocPower CEO Donnel Baird

BlocPower CEO Donnel Baird is on a mission to clean up old, inefficient buildings in America’s cities -- and help people who are exposed to the worst pollution.

BlocPower was founded in 2012. It’s raised venture capital from Kapor Capital and Andreesen Horowitz. But that process was not easy for a company with a mostly non-white leadership team. As a black founder, Donnel was turned down 200 times before any venture firms were willing to back his vision.

“It was really difficult for us raising capital. One of our investors when I talked to him two or three years ago and said I was struggling to raise capital, he was like ‘yeah man, just hire some white people and send them into the fundraising meetings and it’ll clear things up,’” explains Donnel.

BlocPower is a Brooklyn, New York startup electrifying and weatherizing buildings in underserved communities -- slashing pollution and saving money. This includes housing units, churches, community centers.

And the mission for Donnel isn’t about just about hitting milestones for investors. It’s about changing the fabric of underserved communities that are plagued by pollution and energy poverty. That’s because Donnel has lived it himself.

In this episode, Powerhouse CEO Emily Kirsch talks with Donnel about how he channeled his frustration and anger around racial unfairness into a business model for the energy transition.

Listen to all our past episodes of Watt It Takes here. This series is normally recorded in front of a live audience, but we’re now recording the interviews remotely. See future events from Powerhouse here.

The Energy Gang is brought to you by Sungrow, a leading provider of PV inverter solutions across the world. Sungrow has delivered more than 10 gigawatts of inverters to the Americas alone -- and 120 gigawatts in total across the globe. Learn more about Sungrow’s cutting-edge solar projects.

The Energy Gang is also brought to you by CPower. CPower and its team of energy experts are back with a webinar series aimed to help organizations make sense of the chaos and optimize their energy use and spend in 2021. This hour-long webinar series features market-by-market breakdowns to help energy planners make the right decisions. Register today.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jaksot(566)

The mother of all disruptions. What the war with Iran means for energy.

The mother of all disruptions. What the war with Iran means for energy.

The world changed forever on February 28th, 2026. The consequences of the Iran war will take many years to play out. But one fact already seems clear: we are not going back to the world that existed b...

31 Maalis 1h 12min

A power producer’s view of keeping the lights on. What does rising electricity demand from data centers mean for the US grid?

A power producer’s view of keeping the lights on. What does rising electricity demand from data centers mean for the US grid?

Energy bills are rising, data centers are multiplying, and the grid is straining to keep up. What happens next? For two decades, electricity prices in the United States barely moved. Demand was flat, ...

17 Maalis 1h 10min

The war with Iran: what does the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz mean for global energy?

The war with Iran: what does the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz mean for global energy?

Tanker traffic dries up, oil, gas and fertilizer prices soar, and the world holds its breathThe Strait of Hormuz has long been discussed as one of the single greatest vulnerabilities in global energy ...

10 Maalis 1h 11min

Are VPPs really a viable solution for easing strain on the grid? Tesla say yes, and they have big plans

Are VPPs really a viable solution for easing strain on the grid? Tesla say yes, and they have big plans

VPPs – virtual power plants – continue to spark heated debate. Are they genuinely a fast, affordable way to add capacity to the grid? Or are they an overhyped concept that falls apart when electricity...

3 Maalis 57min

Data centers are adding an extra 220 gigawatts of electricity demand in the US. How can the grid cope? A second special episode from the ACORE Policy Forum

Data centers are adding an extra 220 gigawatts of electricity demand in the US. How can the grid cope? A second special episode from the ACORE Policy Forum

New analysis from Wood Mackenzie shows that 220 gigawatts of additional power demand from data centers is in the pipeline in the US, and 183 GW of that is already backed by firm commercial commitments...

27 Helmi 52min

How are energy supply chains changing as electricity demand surges? A special episode from the ACORE Policy Forum in Washington

How are energy supply chains changing as electricity demand surges? A special episode from the ACORE Policy Forum in Washington

ACORE, the power and renewables industry group, is this week hosting its annual Policy Forum in Washinton DC. It’s an event where industry leaders and experts discuss how the changing landscape of US ...

26 Helmi 48min

A solution to the problem of paying for data centre power? Unpacking AWS’s recent 3 gigawatt deal with NIPSCO

A solution to the problem of paying for data centre power? Unpacking AWS’s recent 3 gigawatt deal with NIPSCO

Data centres have become one of the most contentious issue in US power markets. The question of who will pay for the new generation and grid upgrades needed to keep them running has been soaring up th...

17 Helmi 41min

Energy storage steps up: the growing role of batteries on the grid, and the challenge from winter storms

Energy storage steps up: the growing role of batteries on the grid, and the challenge from winter storms

It’s the hottest sector in the global energy industry right now, driven by rising power demand, the need to back up variable renewable generation, and escalating threats to grid resilience. It is of c...

10 Helmi 1h 1min

Suosittua kategoriassa Liike-elämä ja talous

sijotuskasti
mimmit-sijoittaa
rss-rahapodi
psykopodiaa-podcast
rss-sisalto-kuntoon
ostan-asuntoja-podcast
rss-rahamania
rss-lahtijat
rss-sami-miettinen-neuvottelija
rss-startup-ministerio
hyva-paha-johtaminen
lakicast
rss-seuraava-potilas
herrasmieshakkerit
leadcast
rahapuhetta
sijoituspodi
rss-porssipuhetta
rss-bisnesta-bebeja
rss-viisas-raha-podi