In honor of Women's History Month, we're celebrating the women today who are at the forefront of their fields and developing the future of tomorrow. Today, we're spotlighting Julie Blunden, Board Member at New Energy Nexus and Co-Founder of Green Mountain Energy Company, who has spent a lifetime delivering renewable energy to power the world. Through eight companies, 10 boards, two private company sales and four IPOs, you can bet that Julie is well on her way to building a more sustainable world for us all.
Chief: What is the problem you are solving for tomorrow?
JB: Since the age of 13, I've been solving for decarbonizing our planet as fast as humanly possible. However in the '70s, the notion of climate change had yet to hit our collective consciousness — so I was focused on replacing coal and nuclear power with renewable energy and thought electric cars were cool.
Chief: What is the next frontier to conquer in your industry?
JB: Scaling battery manufacturing in each global region: the US is a distant laggard compared with APAC and Europe. In this decade, lithium-ion batteries will dominate the supply chain for both transportation electrification and stationary energy storage that enables the power sector to hit deep renewable energy penetration. As of today, Tesla has only a partial domestic supply chain for batteries and we will need a gigantic lift to hit our mid-decade battery scale needs for US-based auto manufacturing and power grid reliability. Over this decade, tens of billions of dollars will be invested in the US and hundreds of thousands of jobs created in these sectors.
Chief: What is the biggest challenge preventing more women to enter or excel in your field, and how do we change that for the future?
JB: Women are far, far more represented in my world than 20+ years ago. Still, we have a long way to go. Mandating board diversity is already increasing my inbound call volume. The power sector transformation, now in full swing, was seeded by a 1978 federal law (PURPA) and state level Renewable Portfolio Standard mandates and targets that took off in the '90s. Rules make a market. Thoughtful quotas that leverage competitive markets with reasonable deadlines change markets.