Doyle Launches New Venture – FireFlower Alternative Energy
Starting Up in a Downturn – Once Again
Kathleen C. Doyle
Taunton, MA, July 15, 2009: Starting a business in a tough economy is hard. So perhaps it was the successful long-term growth of the first venture that led Kathy Doyle, CEO and Founder of FireFlower Alternative Energy, to want to do it again.
For the second time, Ms. Doyle has launched a new venture in a down economy. This one, FireFlower Alternative Energy, is focused on siting, financing, constructing and selling wind energy in the Northeastern U.S. Corporations and municipalities facing the roller coaster of unpredictable energy costs are listening to the opportunities presented by this local, hard-charging entrepreneur. They like what they hear: If your city, town or organization is fortunate enough to have a good wind resource, Doyle’s company will deliver turnkey renewable energy to your site in the form of a new wind turbine or two.
While there are many wind projects currently in the planning stages throughout New England, most developers specializing in wind energy prefer to focus on larger scale wind projects, involving five or more turbines and generating in excess of 7.5 megawatts. Those in the market for building mid-scale projects – between 600kW and 3MW involving one or two turbines – are hard-pressed to find investors with an appetite for the associated risks. Doyle has assembled a pool of funds targeted toward making wind energy available to these mid-sized players.
Although there are no official projects to speak of yet, Doyle has made several proposals to companies in MA and anticipates that at least two of them will come to fruition within the next year. “These forward-thinking companies are poised to capitalize on the incentives that are available as a result of government initiatives encouraging clean energy development” says Doyle.
Prior to founding FireFlower Alternative Energy, Doyle was a co-founder of what became the largest woman-owned commercial real estate firm in MA, GVA Thompson Doyle. “We started our company at the depths of the last real estate recession and that didn’t prevent us from achieving success.
Although starting a company is never easy, the economic downturn has its upside, too,” says Doyle. There are fewer competitors joining the industry and she anticipates potential clients will be more focused on controlling costs of energy over the long term – a boon for her new venture.
Three years ago, Doyle sold her stake in GVA Thompson Doyle to her former business partners. Shortly thereafter, she became involved in the renewable energy field, first in bio-fuels, then solar, then wind. Doyle started making and using biodiesel from waste vegetable oil in 2006 and today, her 2005 diesel Mercedes is powered by grease. Eventually, she says, FireFlower will have a bio-fuels division.
At home, almost 90% of her family’s electrical needs are met by a PV system, which Doyle says taught her the value and expense of investing in renewable energy. She learned that some of the best and most attractive economic opportunities to create renewable energy are where wind resources exist and energy costs are high. In the U.S., the northeast has pockets of good wind and is located at the end of the gas pipeline, where costs and prices are highest. Those factors compelled Doyle to take the plunge, despite the high capital costs.
FireFlower Alternative Energy sites, finances, constructs and sells wind energy for organizations and municipalities in the northeastern United States. The U.S. is moving toward a commitment of powering 20% of its energy needs with wind by 2030 and anticipates creating 250,000 jobs in the process.
FireFlower Alternative Energy provides the necessary capital and expertise to make harnessing the wind a reality for cities, towns and corporations looking to join the green revolution. Some of the best and most attractive economic opportunities to create renewable energy are where wind resources exist and energy costs are high.