Russ: This is the BusinessMakers show heard on the radio and seen online at TheBusinessMakers.com. It's guest time on the show and I'm very pleased to have with me a repeat guest on the show, Paul Dickerson. Paul, welcome back.

Paul: It's great to be here, Russ.

Russ: You bet. Paul was on the show probably about six months or a year ago. He is a partner with Haynes and Boone and leads their clean tech practice, but we're here to talk today about talking about energy because I'm very pleased to inform our audience that the BusinessMakers is gonna launch a new show called the EnergyMakers show and Paul Dickerson is headed up to be the host, and I am real excited that you've agreed to do that.

Paul: Absolutely.

Russ: Okay. Well before we sort of get into what makes up the EnergyMakers show, why don't you share with our audience your background in addition to being with Haynes and Boone and specifically your two stints in Washington I believe with the Department of Commerce heading up a huge export initiative by our U.S. government as well as the Department of Energy where I think you actually controlled a lot of investment in alternative energies and improvements in energy throughout the United States. Share that with us.

Paul: You bet. I am currently a corporate lawyer with Haynes and Boone running their clean energy practice and before that was in DC serving our nation both at commerce and at energy. At commerce worked with a great group of 1,400 staff whose single mission was to help U.S. companies sell their goods and services around the world. At energy we tried to invest our $2 billion budget as prudently as possible, trying to commercialize those renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies really across the portfolio.

Russ: Okay, so I can assume that for the EnergyMakers show you're gonna be talking with some of the people that you've done business with in the past.

Paul: Absolutely.

Russ: And so describe for us a little bit more about your ideas on the EnergyMakers show. Are we gonna sort of cover the whole spectrum of energy or are we gonna focus in just certain areas?

Paul: Russ, much like our nation's energy needs the show is gonna take this “all of the above” approach. We're going to be visiting with oil, gas, coal, nuclear companies. We're going to be talking to solar, wind, bio fuels, and a lot of the efficiency companies, but more importantly to me we're going to focus on the commercialization, actually getting these technologies to market, talking to the policy makers, promoting energy, talking to the venture capital firms and private equity firms investing in energy, and then of course talking to the business leaders who are moving that energy to market.

Russ: Well I was so impressed with your interview about a year ago on the BusinessMakers show. We do quite a few energy related interviews with innovators and entrepreneurs based here in Houston, Texas. I think we're in the energy capital of the world, but my goodness, I remember, Paul the discussion about the energy demand. I mean it's just huge and all of the people that I've had on the show, the experts and then corroborated by your comments say that we have to move forward in every category including conservation as well as fossil fuels, as well as alternative energy. Share your perspective a little bit on the demand, the global demand.

Paul: Well clearly demand is growing at an astronomical rate in places like Asia, and we're gonna see that come on in South America and South Africa and that's where you see certainly in China all the investments not only in traditional energy sources but also in energy efficiency. America was leading number one in clean tech investments back in '09. We've now found ourselves in 2011 as number three behind China and Germany when it comes to those investments and of course China's scooping up petroleum reserves from Africa to Alberta.

Russ: It also seemed to me like you just rolled back a few years ago and there were like two energy camps. There was the fossil fuel guys and they kind of seemed to not be that interested in the renewable world, and simultaneously the whole alternative renewable world was always dissing fossil fuels. It's real interesting to me but it seems like right now even the major oil companies are examining all forms. Do I have that in right perspective or is that just surface level?

Paul: No, you do, and to me it's an exciting time because the traditional energy companies are starting to see the value of diversification and they understand that by seeking for greater diversification even in their own portfolio that they'll ensure that they make money not just on what they do today but what they can do in the future. One of the themes I think the show will continue to explore is this idea of cooperation. How can new energy and old energy work better together to drive our nation forward?

Russ: Okay, well I'm particularly pleased that we have a host of the show with the breadth of experience that you have and the Washington DC experience I think is huge. I remember interviews with both John Hoffmeister and Dr. Michael Econometies. They were both extremely critical of our government and kind of our lack of policy and plans. Is that an accurate criticism?

Paul: I absolutely would echo it. You would think our nation would have it right, but for years America has suffered this leadership void when it comes to our energy policy. For some reason our congressional leaders just have this inability to think ahead. Their attempts to think strategically about our nation's energy needs over, say, a 30-year time horizon just is not within their skill set. Now that fact in my mind necessitates the incumbent energy, the traditional energy folks' involvement in the process because if there's any group that truly understands large scale capital intensive projects it's our oil and gas industries. So with them involved I think we'll see our nation moving towards a better destination.

Russ: Well it seems extra important when you look at the energy industry as a whole and it's not a normal industry at all when you look at the other countries and the way that they've nationalized the process. Venezuela nationalizes it, Russia does, all the other countries do that and it sort of looks like our country doesn't do anything. Now I don't know at the end of the day what I would like them to do. In fact I think in the last interview with you one of the questions was asked, what if you were suddenly made the energy czar of earth, what would you do? If we anointed you as that right now, what would you do?

Paul: Well you know I would try and get, and hopefully through this show we'll be able to get people to understand that we need to seek some definition, some longevity. I explained to my nieces that in our laws, in our energy policy we need some TLC, some transparency, some longevity, and some certainty, and by giving those things to business leaders then they can do what they do best, which is invest and grow and commercialize. So I think that if we can drive some of the policy initiatives towards that certainty then we'll find our nation in a much better place.

Russ: Okay, so clearly here in the BusinessMaker show where we're always championing entrepreneurship, we're always advocating less and less government involvement and bureaucracy, but in energy we need it, right?

Paul: Well we at least need them to be definite in what they do, to give some policy signals. I'm all about less government, but if government is going to offer policy it needs to be for example ten-year declining tax policy, right? It can't be annual or bi-annual policy that leaves Wall Street and the banks uncertain as to what the market will look like.

Russ: Okay, well I'm really looking forward to what you're gonna be able to present to our audience. Our first show is just around the corner and I keep hearing rumors that you've already lined up our first guest.

Paul: Well we have and I'm excited. It's gonna be a great guy. It's Congressman Ted Poe who serves as the congressional head of the second district of Texas. He's a tremendous person and he's certainly someone who understands that America needs prudent energy policy.

Russ: Paul, I really appreciate you joining us and heading up and hosting the EnergyMakers show.

Paul: I'm excited to do it.

Russ: You bet. That's Paul Dickerson, host of the brand new EnergyMakers show, also corporate lawyer with Haynes and Boone. This is the BusinessMakers show heard on the radio and seen online at TheBusinessMakers.com.