Category: Investing
Marine Energy – The Race to Harness the Waves is Off
After years of impressive technology progress yet comparatively modest commercial progress, the marine energy sector has the wind at its back. Acting like competitors prepped at the starting line, marine energy companies leaped in unison out of the demonstration phase in September. Power plants harvesting wave and tidal energy are now in various stages of commercial [...]
Green Venture Philanthropy Part II: NGOs the Next Hot InvestmentSector?
NGOs have grown from grassroots organizations lobbying major development and economic events to providing valuable environmental products and services. The Carbon Disclosure Project is an example of an NGO that has left some of its commercial competitors scrambling to catch up. The provider of carbon credit pricing and performance information had humble beginnings. Its founder [...]
Green Venture Philanthropy
In recent weeks, on both sides of the Atlantic, the media is buzzing about venture philanthropists. Venture philanthropy (VP) is investing in doing good, typically nonprofits and social enterprises, with the expectation of a return on the investment, or a balanced return for those who are truly altruistic. The investment philosophy is based on the [...]
Asia Increasing Investment in US Clean Energy Technologies
This week, Silicon Valley’s largest venture capital fund, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, announced that its soon-to-be-launched fifteenth fund will focus on clean technologies, alongside technology and life science start-ups. The estimated size of the early stage fund is $650 million. KPCB is an exception, however, in [...]
Is it too late or early to invest in nuclear fusion?
Nathan Myhrvold keeps such a low profile that we cannot help but wonder how many times we have sat across from the billionaire at a cafe, and even took his latte at the Starbucks counter even though he was in line ahead of us. So his new role spearheading a very public media campaign on [...]
Bargain Hunting: The Solar Consolidation Boom in China
If you are holding a sluggish basket of solar stocks, you may be inclined to seek higher growth elsewhere. In the face of oversupply, even the Chinese market has slowed down. Hold on. Consolidation activity is expected to boom in the world’s most active solar market. Speaking with analysts in China and Hong Kong this [...]
Cleantech M&A Sector Outlook for 2012
When merger and acquisition activity is expressed in a target company, adrenaline starts to rise in the investment community, as everyone knows there will be action. As one seasoned M&A player once told me: “It is very rare for an asset to be in play and for nothing to happen.” Right about now, you should [...]
Ho-hum – How to Play US Cleantech Volatility
There is nothing ho-hum, or boring, about US green investing. An early backer, the US government has played a major role in supporting the development of world class clean technology. For decades, US government-backed labs have been at the forefront of technologies ranging from fuel cells to clean coal, not to mention the spin-offs and [...]
Cleantech to Soar in 2012!
Venture capital investments in cleantech totalled $8.99 billion in 2011, up 13 percent over 2010, according to the Cleantech Group. The top three sectors attracting funding were solar ($1.81 billion), energy efficiency ($1.46 billion) and transportation ($1.12 billion). The Cleantech Group is forecasting record investments in clean technology in 2012. For more, see the Cleantech blog.
Too Big To Fail? Five Reasons to Invest in the Carbon Market
Needless to say, we went into the Durban climate talks last week with the wrong outlook. Financial markets best capture our collective psyches. Perplexingly, during the climate change summit, we traded the price of carbon down to its lowest level — $6.57. The current price of carbon has less to do with the fundamentals and [...]
- 'Long, bumpy flight' to a greener America - The Age - The Age
- Goldman Sachs eyes Japan renewable energy investments - eco-business.com
- A Tale of Two Cleantechs - Energy Collective
- MaRS cleantech leader Tom Rand recognized for environment-friendly business ... - Canada NewsWire (press release)
- Some light in clean tech investing, despite the gloom - GreenBiz.com (blog)
