Uptime 5th Anniversary, Carbon Negative Materials

The Uptime Podcast team celebrates their fifth anniversary,
reflecting on their journey and contributions from team members.
They also discuss Siemens Gamesa's India operations acquisition by
TPG and future renewable energy investments. Additionally, the
episode covers innovations in carbon-negative building materials.
Sign up now for Uptime Tech News, our weekly email update on all
things wind technology. This episode is sponsored by Weather
Guard Lightning Tech. Learn more about Weather
Guard's StrikeTape Wind Turbine LPS retrofit. Follow the
show
on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Linkedin and visit
Weather Guard on the web. And subscribe to Rosemary Barnes'
YouTube channel here. Have a question we can answer on the
show? Email us! Allen Hall: We just celebrated our fifth year
of podcasting, everybody. So the uptime podcast is of officially
five years old. I can't believe we've made it this far. That's we
were trying to do the math on it the other day at five times 50.
Roughly. It's 250 odd episodes. That's a lot of episodes, Rosemary
Barnes: but that's only the weekly episodes. What about all the
others? You're not only putting out one a week these days. Allen
Hall: No, it's two or three or four, right? It's somewhere in
there. But I just wanted to say congratulations to each of you on
behalf of the Uptime podcast and all the work that happens behind
the scenes. Everybody listens to the finished product, and I know
it sounds great and the comments are great, and the ideas are
great, but there's. A ton of work that goes into this every week to
give you this content, and everybody that's been on the podcast as
a guest, it was just trying to remember all the faces and names
that are. Big and wind that have been on the podcast. It's amazing
the people we've touched, the people we've met that are friends
that have come from the podcast. It's a nice little family, weirdly
enough. And it's one of those it feels like a pair of comfortable
shoes that hey, when you go to a conference, you just know
everybody and you, and they know us. You feel like we've known them
forever because we just spend every week together talking about
what's happening in wind. It's a great little experience. Phil
Totaro: Can we add that, a big thank you to everyone who listens
because we wouldn't keep doing it if you weren't also showing up.
Thank you to everyone that listens. Again, your feedback is
fantastic. Good and bad. It it keeps us entertained. So we thank
you all. Joel Saxum: I would say from my seat as well, Alan, thank
you for having all of us and organizing the things that you do. And
the unsung hero that you guys don't hear from or usually see unless
you're a guest on the podcast is Claire Hall in the background.
Who's our producer who puts all of these episodes together and is
juggling work life. School, a million different things to make sure
this thing goes out every week. So thank you Claire as well. And of
course, Rosemary. Rosemary Barnes: Yeah I was gonna say that, Alan
has abnormal persistence. I think it took it like now it's obvious
why, the value and why we would all keep going and why we come back
every week. But yeah, Alan's efforts, especially in the early years
was like, just. Just kept on doing it week after week. And, when I
started, all I had to do was show up and try and read the material
beforehand. I definitely would not have been doing a weekly podcast
for, I think I've been on it for four years or so. I wouldn't have
been doing that on my own, that's for sure. I think yeah, 90% of
the success comes from Alan's abnormal persistence. So Thanks Alan.
Allen Hall: Yeah. I appreciate everybody coming every week. I know
we've all been through ups and downs over the last several years,
rosemary, you've grown a family. And Joel is. Been in and out and
I've been in and out and Phil too, right? So between the four of
us, we can actually make a decent podcast, which is what I like
listening to. And I, we actually reduce the there's a lot of back
and forth. We don't put on the air because. We disagree quite a
bit, but that's what makes it fun for, at least for me. I know
Rosemary and I sometimes sound like we, we don't get along, but
actually we quite do. I like Rosemary. I think she's fantastic and
I think she brings a ton to the podcast, but there are times it
doesn't seem like we, we get along. I'm fine with it honestly. And
Phil, brings in all the investor and the analysis and the data
stream and all that which just. Puts depth to this and puts the
numbers together so it makes sense and Joel's experience in oil and
gas and in wind and working for a company in Denmark and all those
pieces that you can't. Find anywhere, make this podcast work. It's
just what it is. It was just great. So I'm just thrilled we met,
made it five years and thanks to everybody that's listened and
we're gonna cross a million subscribers on YouTube in the next
couple of weeks. Thanks to everybody who has. Has joined us on this
journey, and yeah, let's look forward to the next five years to see
if we make it that long. You're listening to the Uptime Wind Energy
Podcast, brought to you by build turbines.com. Learn, train, and be
a part of the Clean Energy Revolution. Visit build turbines.com
today. Now here's your hosts, Alan Hall, Joel Saxon, Phil Ro and
Rosemary Barnes. Allen Hall: A consortium led by TPG. Is set to
acquire Siemens Gomesa renewable powers, India operations. Now that
deal, Phil is valued at 500 to 550 million, and it comes as Siemen
energy works to streamline its operation. Following some
significant challenges over the last year or two. Phil, do you know
all the groups that are involved along with TPG and what's the
approach inside of India once they close this deal with Siemens
cesa? Phil Totaro: That's a really good question, and I don't know
if we know all the answers yet, but it looks like Siemens energy is
slated to retain a little bit less than 10% share in, in the
company. TPG Capital is working with the consortium of local
companies. Have prior experience in the renewable energy sector. So
that's a good sign. They've got nine gigawatts of installed
capacity in India at this point with, legacy kind of Ga, Mesa
technology. So the question is they bought the whole thing,
including the manufacturing facilities of which they have, I think
three. It's. Interesting that it's a, an investor TPG capital,
basically, that's taking majority ownership of this and not
somebody that's, again, they've brought in these couple of guys
that, that run these other two investment partners that are I.
Experienced in the Indian renewable space, but I don't know if
that's enough to keep everybody going. The capital infusion is
certainly enough to keep the manufacturing operations going if they
want to, but are they really getting orders? I'm assuming this
means they've got the license to keep manufacturing these, two to
three megawatt Siemens ESA designs. So where do they go from there?
Joel Saxum: Phil, when Alan and I are doing, we do quite a bit of
communication work and lightning stuff in the Indian market and we
run into a lot of G one fourteens. A ton of them actually. So in my
mind I'm thinking, okay, we know that when this thing was up on the
block to be sold, they were people that were looking at it, were
wanting mostly from what I saw, was the services revenue. They
wanted to take over that service organization 'cause they wanted
the revenue. From that, in my mind, I'm thinking. Who's on the hook
for the risk of warranty? Because if they're built, if there's
stuff that has been deployed, are they take, are they buying the
warranty risk or does that still go back to Siemens Ag? Of course,
we probably won't. The details of this won't be public, but at this
point in time, I don't know because that seems risky as hell to me.
Phil Totaro: Yeah. And for those that aren't familiar, legacy ESA
technology, of which the G one 14 was a derivative of, the
technology that they originally licensed from Vestas and made the G
80 series and the G 90 series that was lightning prone is all get
out. And, those things have suffered immeasurably, throughout the
world. The G eighties, g and g one 14 of are. Just absolute
lightning magnets. I'm sure there's someone that's gonna be
accepting whatever risk there is. Joel Saxum: If you own G
eighties, G nineties, or G one fourteens, call us. We can help.
Allen Hall: Private equity firms are capitalizing on depressed,
renewable energy stock prices to acquire clean energy assets at
attractive valuations. Now despite the challenging market
conditions for wind and solar companies, investors see strong
long-term fundamentals in the sector, particularly as oil majors
retreat from the renewable energy commitments. Now Phil, we've seen
a lot of this activity over the last year. Brookfield is a big
player in acquisitions at the moment. Masar is making a lot of
moves. There is ripe fruit. Out there that is valued right to grab
now, and I think you're gonna see a lot more of these acquisitions
happening because the more recent acquisitions have not been in the
hundreds of millions of dollars. They've been in the billions of
dollars and a lot of billions. I don't see this changing anytime
soon. Phil Totaro: Yeah. And particularly as the oil and gas
companies pull back some of these companies you mentioned
Brookfield and Masar Master also just announced they were
contemplating an IPO. So that's gonna give them even more resources
to, to plow into that if they go that route. But the reality of it
is too, that these are also companies that have made the long-term
commitment. To renewables and a renewables portfolio. They're not
just getting in to flip an asset. They're getting in to build out
their portfolio of what they can own, what they can operate, what
they can repower.