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Deborah Knuckey writes about climate, energy and the Antarctic, with occasional forays into
climate fiction and satire. Her wit and intellectual candor is exactly the kind of stuff I love to read, and its probably the reason I’ve become friends with her over the years we’ve worked together in the renewable energy sector.
She’s just back from the ClimateForce 2041 Leadership on the Edge program in the Antarctic, and I got to sit down with her to hear about how her various explorations of the Antarctic have influenced her winding path to clean energy. Her decades-long effort to transcribe her father’s Antarctic travel journal and revisit the life of a man she never really got to know features prominently in the story today, and even prompts some of my own reflections on how to be a better Father and friend. Today Deb & I get deep into the things she’s learned about the Antarctic, why it’s fascinated her and pushed her all her life, what we can learn from that vast baron landscape and why she considers it to be “the subconscious of the world”.
[She’s such a good writer that I would prefer to give you her version of this post/intro than my own! So, here ya go:]
“While Deborah Knuckey’s resume says plenty about her more than 20 years of strategy
and marketing experience in the renewables sector, she defines herself more by her curiosity about the world, willingness to reinvent her life, and abiding curiosity about her father’s expedition to the Antarctic. The latter has led her to train in mountaineering and polar expedition skills, complete a graduate program in documentary filmmaking, and in March this year, join the ClimateForce 2041 Leadership on the Edge program in the Antarctic.”
Deborah Knuckey has lived a fascinating life, and she’s far from done. While she began her career at Macquarie Bank in Australia, it was her journey to the US that ultimately landed her at McKinsey’s energy practice. Many who know here in our industry recall that she rose through the ranks to become global head of marketing at a then-relatively-unknown NorCal power electronics company named Enphase. Since then, she has worked with numerous companies in solar, wind, energy storage, energy data, project finance and more, including her most recent tenure as head of a leading marketing agency’s renewables practice. And for those who are SunCast faithful, you’ll note that she’s THE Deborah that recent guest Michael Burz refers to often in his incredible interview about the company they have cofounded - zinc battery innovator Enzinc.
In today’s broad-reaching discussion, Deb delves into how the travel bug took her to more than 50 countries and how her winding career path led to finding her work match & life partner later in life than she may have imagined. By her own admission, it “Took a while to learn what I enjoyed” but you’ll hear her genuine passion for the industry as she explores the way each experience builds upon the last. Deborah also believes that careers evolve as we continue to search for “Ikigai”. For those unfamiliar, this is a Japanese reference that refers to the intersection of:
o What you love
o What you are good at
o What you can get paid for
o What the world needs – that’s become one thing: climate action (addition by Deb)
Listen in on today’s discussion as we cover a vast array of topics sure to stimulate your own musing around the value of travel, the intention with which you approach your own journey in climate solutions, and the purity and potential perils found in marching to the beat of your own drum.
Timestamps
(4:09) Profile picture at match.com
(6:08) Antarctica a relative narrative
(7:16) Deborah's father's legacy
(13:12) What most people get wrong about Antarctica
(14:53) Why a trip to Antarctica
(17:47) Famous people on the trip
(20:46) Discussion that left an impression
(22:33) Capturing the experience and telling the story
(26:17) How we're damaging the planet
(27:40) Why Antarctica is the subconscious of the world
(32:38) The art of journaling through Deborah's Dad's writing
(39:34) How Deborah discovered the energy sector
(45:00) From sustainable design to power conditioning devices
(49:20) Early challenges at Enphase
(52:12) Leaving Enphase
(56:11) Deborah's unpopular truths
(58:47) What would Deborah's TED Talk be about
(1:01:04) Where Deborah gets her inspiration
(1:02:41) An interesting direction
(1:04:36) Deborah's recommended books
(1:08:36) Deborah's bold prediction
(1:10:32) Wrap up
BOOKS MENTIONED AND RECOMMENDATIONS:
NOTEWORTHY QUOTE:
“Here we are damaging the world with oil and gas in a way that’s not killing one species, it’s potentially damaging the entire planet, irreversibly. ”
“So it’s kind of this place no one looks at, but if things go south, there we’re in deep, deep trouble. I mean, the potential for sea level rise, most of that comes not from melting in the north, not from Greenland’s ice sheet, it comes from the Antarctic.”
“It’s so hard when you see the scale of the world to understand that a single species has broken this planet. But we have, and it’s shocking. And I think the Antarctic is that place where we don’t see the damage, because so few people go there.”
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ABOUT THE HOST OF SUNCAST:
Nico Johnson is the creator and host of SunCast, consistently rated a top solar podcast in the clean energy sector. The content of the show is geared towards listeners looking for insights on where the markets are headed, how to position themselves or their companies, and what today's market leaders do to stay ahead of the pack.
Nico is an Investor, Executive Coach, and 15-year veteran of the solar industry, having led development in the US and Latin America for global companies like Trina Solar and Conergy.
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