Alternative . Renewable . Energy

T. Boone Pickens voices alternative energy support

This post is brought to you by  Curt Rosengren ~ Passion Catalyst TM   "Love your work. Change your world."

In another indication of the momentum building behind alternative energy development, T. Boone Pickens, a man who made his billions in the oil biz, recently voiced his support for alternative energy.

...Pickens, who heads the $4 billion BP Capital Management hedge fund, also voiced some support for alternative energy development, saying a half-trillion dollars a year is leaving the United States economy to buy oil.

Pickens said solar power technology is "almost there," and there could be "corridors" of wind power developed from Texas through the Great Plains and west to California.

...Economist Glen Langan told BloggingStocks Thursday, Boone Pickens's support for alternative energy sources will help build the case for energy diversification in the United States.

"T. Boone Pickens's support is important in that oil industry players, not just non-oil energy companies, will begin or expand alternative energy source research and development," Langan said. "Granted, leadership support doesn't carry as much weight when oil is at $30 or $40 per barrel, but it does now, given what we know $100 oil can do the U.S. economy and U.S. wealth."

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Green tech growth

This post is brought to you by  Curt Rosengren ~ Passion Catalyst TM   "Love your work. Change your world."

More news on the greentech-is-the-new-dotcom front. RenewablesOffshore points to an article spotlighting the continued growth of green tech.

Green tech companies develop new energy sources, devise ways to use existing resources more efficiently, or design products that help the environment. High oil prices and concern over global warming have fueled their rise. 

Many green technologies so far exist only in the lab. But investors are betting that green companies will one day make serious money. Venture capitalists pumped an estimated $3 billion into the industry nationwide last year. More than 20 percent of that cash went to the Bay Area, the No. 1 destination. Other high-tech hubs such as Austin, Texas, and the Boston suburbs snagged much of the rest.

Even better, that represents a massive growth in the investment going into green technologies:

The Cleantech Venture Network tracked $2.9 billion invested within North America during 2006, a 78 percent increase over the previous year. Ernst & Young, which defines the field more narrowly, counted $884 million invested in the United States last year, up 80 percent from $491 million in 2005.

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Green investing trend: Avoiding "carbon dogs"

Next time you take a look at your stock portfolio, you might want to ask how many "carbon dogs" you have. What, you might ask, is a carbon dog? It's at the heart of a new green investment trend:

...companies need to be aware of a growing international trend to identify companies' carbon emission status – and direct investment away from what are called 'carbon dogs".

The New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development says a new trend is emerging which sees analysts recommending investment in companies reducing greenhouse gas emissions. New funds are being created to channel major investment to those companies.

Mainstream investment is now moving into a field long occupied by only socially conscious investors.

And as always, when the pure money players are moving in, you know it's really a trend...

"The pure profit-and-loss investment players are moving in now. They believe there is money to be made from holding the shares of low emitters and shorting the shares of big ones," Mr Neilson says.

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1 in 5 venture capital firms to invest in energy and environmental technologies

Via Cleantech Investing comes another tidbit spotlighting the fact that clean technology is hitting the mainstream...Venture Capitalists are increasingly jumping into the game to play:

As the latest NVCA survey of VCs shows, 12% of VCs now say they're "currently focusing on investments in energy/environment, with that figure jumping to 21 percent over the next five years." For the second year in a row, it's the fastest growing sector in terms of projected activity. So according to those surveyed, five years from now one out of every five VCs plans to be focusing on cleantech.

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Growth in the alternative energy industry

More signs that the alternative energy industry is generating more and more revenue and attracting more capital:

A recent study by green-technology consulting firm Clean Edge suggests that by 2010, the alternative energy industry will generate over $82 billion worth of electrical power, up from just under $10 billion today. The solar industry is predicted to grow to $51.1 billion in annual sales by 2015 while the wind industry is expected to grow from its current sales of just over $11 billion to $48.5 billion in 2015. A similar growth is expected with fuel sales, increasing its sales from today s $0.9 billion to $15.1 billion in 2015. That s a flashing opportunity sign for entrepreneurs, says Carmichael. This market is ripe for the picking.

In the U.S., venture capitalists invested over $150 million into green-focused startups in 2005, double the amount of the previous year. From solar photovoltaics to biofuels to organic foods, all of the largest venture capital firms are now backing clean technology projects.

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Clean-Tech Investor Conference

Clean-Tech is getting more attention from the investment community. Here's a conference coming up in Palm Springs in February with a Clean-Tech investing focus. Looks to be interesting.

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Have an energy question? Google it here!

BP Alternative Energy

Some encouraging news over on Joel Makower's blog...

On Monday, BP announced the launch of BP Alternative Energy, a new business unit that will manage BP's investments in solar, wind, hydrogen, and combined-cycle-gas-turbine power generation, which could amount to $8 billion over the next decade, the company says.

I hesitate to get too hopeful about something like this, but the more serious attention alternative energy gets from the big companies (not just marketing fluff), the more promising it looks

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Have an energy question? Google it here!

Record global investment in renewable energy

I'll take good news where I can get it:

Global investment in renewable energy set a new record of $30 billion in 2004, according to a report released by the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21). Technologies such as wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, and small hydro now provide 160 gigawatts of electricity generating capacity, about 4 percent of the world total.

"Renewable energy has become big business," said Eric Martinot, lead author of Renewables 2005: Global Status Report.

OK, so the pessimist in me says, "But where do we actually need to be," but hey, let's celebrate where we can, right?

"Renewable energy has become big business" is music to my ears. That means the money is actually starting to pay attention.

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Have an energy question? Google it here!

More cash for clean energy

More Cash for Clean Energy, from Red Herring...

Investments in clean energy include $270 million for wind farms, and a $30-million addition to clean-energy fund.

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Venture capital interest in clean tech

Venture capital interest in clean tech may be heating up, but it still represents a relatively small percentage of the deal flow.

...Still, clean energy's share of the total venture pool remains tiny...though it has doubled over the past four years. Paul, for one, noted that clean technology might need a success story like a Yahoo or a Netscape "before every venture firm decides they need to be in this sector." Clean-technology ventures received 1.2 percent of the total amount of venture capital invested in 2000. In 2004, the $520 million that venture capitalists invested in the area accounted for 2.6 percent of the overall venture pie. "We're in a situation where we still have more deals than capital," Floyd said.

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