Jones sees bright future for Sterling Planet
The green power
market is going to be a big place and Sterling Planet's poised to be a
leader in the sector, says the firm's CEO and founder Mel Jones.
Sterling Planet started in 2000.
It sells green power via renewable energy certificates (RECs).
It's signed up over 222,000 customers, he said, tallying the volume
at over 2.4 billion kwh.
The firm has partnered with 27 utilities to sell RECs where markets
are open and where they're not.
Utilities are where the rubber meets the road, he added, because
that's where customers expect to get power.
Collaborating with utilities and regulators makes expanding green
choice easier, Jones said.
In fact, Sterling Planet is preparing to team with the New York PSC
and Consolidated Edison to offer Manhattan customers green power for the
first time.
Sterling Planet has just raised $1.6 million working capital in six
weeks.
Jones uses Ardour Capital Investments of Manhattan and plans to
raise another $3.5 million in the near future.
The sky's the limit right now for Sterling Planet, Jones said.
Sterling Planet has a portfolio of world-class clients unmatched in
depth and breadth, noted Jones.
He's talking about 170 large, prestigious businesses and 19 federal
agencies, such as the EPA, IRS, Dept of Homeland Security, the General
Services Administration, the US Army and the National Renewable Energy
Lab.
New York State buys power from Sterling Planet, too.
Sterling Planet is growing among multi-national firms who wish to
voluntarily comply with the Kyoto Protocol's greenhouse gas rules, Jones
added.
Staples, Alcoa and DuPont are three such customers, Jones noted.
Sterling Planet handles a large customer volume with little
overhead by outsourcing most backroom tasks, Jones noted.
He had been a high ranking Southern Co official before building the
green firm.
The firm stays competitive because it doesn't need a large team to
handle its large volume, he added.
Sterling Planet checks its green power several ways, Jones said,
for authenticity.
Green-e and Environmental Resources Trust certify the firm's power
and it complies with state regulation where regulators mandate utilities
account for a percentage of green power.
A third party audits Sterling Planet's buying, too.
Originally published in
Restructuring Today on
August 31, 2005 |