Energy and Clean Technology

Fuel Your Interest in Energy

The Bay Area and Berkeley Haas are valued resources for energy-related research and innovation. Students interested in an MBA for energy, cleantech, and renewables find curricular opportunities such as the hands-on MBA Cleantech to Market course, which crosses disciplinary boundaries, putting together students from business, engineering, biosciences, law, and public policy to tackle large challenges.

The Berkeley Energy Resources Collaborative and the Energy Institute at Haas also integrate the business and science of energy.

Below are some of the resources supporting Berkeley MBA students interested in energy and cleantech.

Video: Energy & Clean Tech student perspectives

 

Sample Coursework for a Career in Energy

Energy and Environmental Markets

Examine the economic determinants of industry structure and evolution of competition; investigate strategies for entering new markets and competing in existing markets; and analyze the rationale for and effects of public policies in energy markets.

Energy and Infrastructure Project Finance

An in-depth look at the financial, legal, and regulatory issues associated with the development and financing of energy projects, with a particular focus on alternative energy projects.

Renewable Energy Speaker Series

Entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and technical experts discuss a variety of alternative energy sectors. Topics include photovoltaics, biofuels, wind energy, batteries, and energy efficiency.

Experiential Learning in Energy

Cleantech to Market

In Cleantech to Market (C2M), interdisciplinary teams of graduate students from across UC Berkeley work with scientists from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to complete projects that will help accelerate the commercialization of new solar, biofuel, battery, and smart grid/energy management technologies.

See the full list of Berkeley MBA experiential learning opportunities

Energy Faculty Spotlight

Professor Severin Borenstein serves as chair of the Petroleum Market Advisory Committee for the California Energy Commission and is the E.T. Grether Chair in Business Administration and Public Policy at Berkeley Haas. His research includes energy policy and climate change, airline competition, and oil and gasoline market pricing and competition.

Catherine Wolfram is a professor and former faculty director of the Energy Institute at Haas. She has published extensively on the economics of energy markets and studied the electricity industry around the world, analyzing the effects of environmental regulation, including climate change mitigation policies, on the energy sector. She teaches Design and Evaluation of Development Technology.

Lucas Davis is an associate professor and faculty director of the Energy Institute at Haas. His research focuses primarily on energy and environmental markets, and in particular, on electricity and natural gas regulation, pricing in competitive and non-competitive markets, and the economic and business impacts of environmental policy. He teaches Data & Decisions.

Beverly Alexander is the founding director of the Cleantech to Market program and a former senior VP at Pacific Gas & Electric Company, in charge of the largest energy efficiency, solar, and demand response programs in the U.S. She has also worked as a consultant on clean energy solutions. She serves as an advisor to the Berkeley Energy & Resources Collaborative.

Meet more faculty whose research and teaching focuses on energy and cleantech.

Energy Institute at Haas

The Energy Institute at Haas brings together research and curricular programs on energy business, policy, and technology commercialization to bridge the gap between the frontiers of economic and scientific energy research and the marketplace. EI@Haas runs a highly active blog, exploring everything from cap-and-trade and innovation to energy poverty.

Energy Co-Curriculars

The Berkeley Energy & Resources Collaborative (BERC) is a multidisciplinary network that connects students from multiple schools, programs, and labs at UC Berkeley. In addition to holding workshops on such topics as the future of transportation and designing for sustainability, and women in green industries, club offerings include an annual Energy Summit, and a Cleanweb Hackathon.

BERC also offers BERC Innovative Solutions (BIS)—a consulting program led by students from across UC Berkeley’s top graduate departments, providing experiential learning in addressing strategic energy and resource opportunities and challenges, including sustainable investing. Clients have included Siemens, Calpine, and Bloom Energy.

Support for a Career in Energy

Students leverage the BERC experience and network, the Berkeley Haas Alumni Network, and the Career Management Group’s relationship manager and industry specialist for energy to pursue careers, with hirers including Bloom Energy, Chevron, PG&E, and Tesla.

Katie Pickrell

Katie Pickrell

MBA 16

Chief of Staff
PG&E

“Energy touches on so many disciplines—technology, law, policy, business, economics—that being able to connect with students and take classes in other graduate schools is essential. UC Berkeley School of Law and Goldman School of Public Policy Professor Jennifer Granholm’s class on energy policy was terrific.”