Mitchell Dong
Mitchell Dong - Independent Energy Entrepreneur
Mitchell
Dong has been an entrepreneur in alternative energy since 1973, when he helped building owners reduce their cost of heating, air
conditioning and electricity. Energy Investment conducted
thousands of energy audits of buildings and designed programs which
increased energy efficiency.
In 1980, Mitchell started
MITEX, Inc., which developed hydroelectric power facilities at existing
Federal dams. MITEX filed for 80 preliminary permits from FERC
and received 10 licenses to construct and operate hydropower
facilities. The company built five plants totaling 30 MW and was
sold to Sithe Energies, a subsidiary of the Compagnie Generale des
Eaux.
Mitchell then developed gas-fired,
cogeneration power plants in 1986. He founded and ran Tellus,
Inc., which executed power purchase agreements for over 500 MW of
cogeneration projects. The project was sold to a subsidiary of
General Public Utilities.
In 1991, Mitchell
founded FulCircle Ballast Recyclers, in Bronx, NY. The company
disposed of PCB contaminated ballast from fluorescent lighting
fixtures. He and his partners developed a process to destroy the PCBs
and reclaim copper, aluminum and steel from the small lighting
transformers. The company was sold in 1995 to a publicly traded
environmental firm.
In 2004, Mitchell started
Pythagoras Investment Management, his family office, which has invested
in power plants in China, infrastructure companies in Vietnam and
China, solar and hydro power companies, fuel cell and wind companies.
In
2006, Mitchell started Solios Asset Management, which ran two hedge
funds. Solios Power Fund trades financial contracts in electric
power markets in the US and Solios Uranium Fund invests in physical
uranium for nuclear power plants.
In 2008, Mitchell started
Mohave Sun Power, whose first project is a 340 MW solar thermal power
plant in Arizona. The proposed project was put on hold in 2010 due to
decreasing power demand from the utility. The project has since been
moved to Saudi Arabia, where development has continued on both solar
thermal and photovoltaic projects as part of the Kingdom’s 41GW goal by
2032.
Mitchell Dong’s accomplishments include:
- Private investor in alternative energy technology companies
- Developer of concentrating solar power (CSP) and solar thermal plants
- Developer, owner, operator of hydroelectric power plants
- Developer of gas fired, cogeneration power plants
- Owner operator of hazardous waste (PCBs) disposal facility
- Founder of energy efficiency and demand response company
- Hedge fund manager of statistical arbitrage trading program
- Hedge fund manager of electricity trading program
- Hedge fund manager of uranium investment fund
- Private investor in natural resource and infrastructure companies
- Private investor in emerging Asian and African markets
Mitchell Dong, along with his family, is also dedicated to philanthropic activities which focus on public health and poverty reduction in Africa and Central America.
