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Alternative Energy - Monday, October 24, 2005

SkyBuilt Power - Profile

HQ: Arlington, VA

Founded: 2002

Management: David Muchow is President & CEO. He is a lawyer and gas-man by training. He was General Counsel and Secretary to the American Gas Association as well as General Counsel to the Business Council for Sustainable Energy plus the former Counsel to the Natural Gas Council and a Vice Chairman of the Gas Committee of the American Bar Association.

Investors: In October 2005, the CIA-backed VC firm In-Q-Tel invested an undisclosed amount in the company.

Business Model: SkyBuilt Power's initial product would have been a god-send for the latest hurricanes if it had been available and deployed by FEMA or the National Guard. The company has developed a Mobile Power Station (MPS) which takes the form of a standard shipping container. It can be transported by truck, train, ship or plane. This wind-solar hybrid power unit can be parachuted to a rugged location and deployed within a few hours by two people. A steerable wing-type of parachute can be guided by remote control to get it to an otherwise inaccessible location.

At the site, users can deploy solar panels or wind turbines in just a few hours, for self-generated power. Or, use diesel, propane, natural gas or gasoline-powered generators. The interior of the MPS can be used for anything—air-conditioned office space, telecommunications, medical center, emergency operations/command center or storage.

SkyBuilt - For Heavy-Duty Off The Grid Demands

Competitors: It's a pretty unique product.

Dirt: SkyBuilt has been laboring in obscurity until recently - and it still has nothing more than prototypes, however, its fate seems to have changed. We are no experts in the government procurement process, but it does seem that in light of the epidemic of hurricanes in the US and other disaster preparation, that there may be large appropriations made to outfit districts with energy-independent command posts. Because the CIA-funded In-Q-Tel has invested, we suspect that they checked with the military industrial complex, which will make some orders as well. SkyBuilt claims that there is a consumer market for their products as well, but that seems a bit far-fetched.