Alumni Spotlight: David Brewster
Ener-NOC
Co-Founder and President
Boston, MA
Background
M.E.M. ‘00
Economics and Policy of Energy
Other degrees: M.B.A., Dartmouth
Biography
“David graduated from the Nicholas School in 2000 with a Master of Environmental Management (M.E.M.) and a commitment to make a difference in the nexus between energy and environment. After adding a Master’s of Business Administration from Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business to his C.V., he forayed into the private sector. He hooked up with fellow entrepreneur Tim Healy to hatch EnerNOC, short for Energy Network Operations Center, an energy company dedicated to ‘transforming the way the world uses energy,’ ” through a novel smart-grid system.
It’s an innovative solution to one of our biggest energy problems—namely, the need to build more power plants to accommodate our ever-growing appetite for energy. Instead of tapping backup plants when demand for electricity outstrips supply, utilities tap EnerNOC, whose customer sites cut nonessential electricity usage on demand.
“While a price-based version of this system has been around for decades (interruptible tariffs allow utilities to incentivize customers by offering lower rates for reductions during peak-demand times), that less technological practice does not guarantee affordable real-time data communication or adequate automation to allow for smooth curtailment. EnerNOC’s technology-based solution does—while delivering a suite of complementary energy-management tools for even more reductions and added pollution cuts.”
David currently serves on the Board of Visitors for the Nicholas School of the Environment.
(Profile information taken from TheGreenGrok, May 5, 2010, and a Dukenvironment Magazine article, written by Erika Rowell, Spring ’11; photo taken from same article.)
