You won't hear Greg Henthorn's voice raised in the shouting match over global warming, and it's not because he doesn't have an opinion.

The Morgantown-based entrepreneur has sized up the situation and is investing his efforts in finding the business opportunity that's obscured in the fracas.

"Regardless of how the facts may be construed, the civilized world has decided it wants to do something about climate change. As a business person, the argument over global warming is irrelevant to me," Henthorn says. "The world is focusing on constraining carbon, and that trend represents a business opportunity. The United States needs to be leading the charge in terms of creating intellectual property around that proposition."

Henthorn intends to do his part. His business, Kinetic Star Inc., is poised to move swiftly on opportunities that arise from the push to find alternative energy sources. "The state of West Virginia has a lot of assets that could put us at the forefront of the curve," he says. He's turning a creative eye toward gassy coal mines, reeking landfills, industrial and municipal sludge and agri-business animal waste lots.

Emerging green energy projects

His Kinetic Star Web site explains that the company originates and coordinates development, finance and operations of energy development projects that result in the creation of carbon credits and renewable energy. The company's immediate focus, the Web site says, is capturing methane generated from coal mining and waste disposal industries.

"We work with institutional investors and large multinational corporations that invest in green energy projects and buy carbon credits," Henthorn says. "We find opportunities and bring the pieces together. If our partners invest, my company gets a piece of it. We have already closed a few deals, and we're working on several others."

Methane is a greenhouse gas that, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide and contributes substantially to global climate change. The agency is part of an international initiative that advances cost-effective, near-term methane recovery and use as a clean energy source. Henthorn's corporate partners have stakes in cutting edge technologies being tested in locations around the world.

"Recent legislation and technological advancement are making the economics of these technologies viable," Henthorn says. "Capturing methane is a difficult process but it's now becoming worth the investment."

Creative process

Henthorn has been so busy in his career doing startups and venture capital that he only recently noticed that he's never had a job like those his fellow graduates in chemical engineering and law typically pursued. "My background in engineering and law has been helpful, but I love the process of business startups. I naturally gravitate in that direction."

He weathered the dot com debacle of the '90s, and "learned how not to build a business" in a Silicon Valley partnership. "We created a business by reading analysts' reports. It got a lot of attention, but didn't have the fundamentals." He says he spent a few years spinning his wheels, dabbling in alternative energies. "Somewhere along the way in the mid-2000s, I realized there were opportunities in the energy space that involved the next generation of fossil fuels. There's going to be a lot of opportunity in the transition phase. I wanted to find a way to be involved in those opportunities that had near-time possibilities."

The kid who wanted to be a sports broadcaster, who at 18 could hardly wait to see the West Virginia border quickly receding in his rear view mirror, now regards the state, his schooling and experiences here among his most valuable assets.

He says being from West Virginia is a benefit when interacting with investment groups and large companies. "Outside the state, former West Virginians who are entrenched in energy companies and investment funds go out of their way to help when they find out where I'm from."

He says he also owes friends and associates within West Virginia a huge debt of gratitude. "They have been my mentors in so many ways," he says. "I want to work with them now to find opportunities in this new business landscape.

"Even if it's only a slight paradigm shift in the energy sector, it's in our best interest to know and understand the dynamic. It makes sense to look at the opportunities, not just the challenges. That's really the way I see the world. That's where West Virginia has an opportunity for major economic growth, if we play our cards right. "

Photo Courtesy of Kinetic Star

Greg Henthorn

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