Silicon Valley Solar gets $10 mln venture round

June 18 - MarketWatch.com - Silicon Valley Solar on Monday said it raised $10.2 million in venture capital in its first round of financing. The Series A funding will be used for the process development, equipment, materials and staffing required to mature the company's Sol-X technology to commercial form. Bessemer Venture Partners led the round. Silicon Valley Solar also closed its acquisition of NuEdison. "We are very enthusiastic about SV Solar's approach to this space," said Justin Label, Cleantech partner for Bessemer Venture Partners. SV Solar is a manufacturer of flat plate internal concentrator solar modules.

Alternative energy projects draw investors

June 13 - Sioux City Journal - Investors are willing to provide a surprising amount of financing for solar power and other clean energy projects, a financial expert told the Western Governors' Association on Monday.

"The amounts of investment are staggering," said Ray Lane, managing partner of a venture capital firm based in California. "There are plenty of investors who are not weak of heart who are ready to do that.

"Ten governors and the premiers of two Canadian provinces are meeting in Deadwood to discuss global warming and clean technology for energy production.Lane, managing partner of Kleiner, Perkins Caufield and Byers, said venture capital firms will fund about $30 billion in new technology enterprises this year, and $3 billion of that will be alternative energy technology. Read More.

Intelligent Energy raises £8.5m in funding for fuel cell development

June 13 - Fuel Cell Today - Intelligent Energy has secured more funding to enable the further development of its fuel cell applications, it has been reported.

According to the Free Radicals clean technology investment newsletter, Henri Winand, chief executive of the Loughborough-based firm, announced at last month's Essential Cleantech conference in London that investors including Credit Suisse Securities, Black River, Meditor Capital Management and Evolution Placements Corporation have backed Intelligent Energy with a combined £8.5 million in funds.

"I've always been convinced that their technology is ahead of everyone else's in the [proton exchange membrane] sector," commented Alan Walker, manager of the Black River Commodity Clean Energy Investment Fund, on his decision to support Intelligent Energy in Free Radicals.

Intelligent Energy's Environmentally Neutral Vehicle, which is powered by a 1kW fuel cell named CORE, is now set for series production in the second half of this year.

Advanced Technology Ventures Adds Cleantech & Telecommunications Professionals to its Investment Team

June 13 - American Venture Magazine - Advanced Technology Ventures, a bi-coastal venture capital firm that invests in information technology, healthcare and cleantech companies, today announced that Andrew Friendly and Gavin Kim have been named Senior Associates in the firm's Waltham office.

Andrew and Gavin bring to ATV strong technical acumen and successful careers in the areas of clean technology and other energy-related businesses, and telecommunications, specifically wireless and mobile devices. Each has established a strong foundation of experience in business development, sales, strategic consulting, operations, and finance. Read More.

US venture capitalists target green energy investments

June 10 - GulfNews.com - San Francisco: US venture capitalists are targeting green energy investments in high-tech insulation, powerful light-weight batteries and other cutting-edge niches beyond headline grabbers such as solar power and biofuels.

Venture capital executives gathered at a clean technology investment conference in San Francisco this week said they are backing energy-efficiency projects in sectors such as offshore oil and gas, military and aerospace, television broadcasting, emergency response, and in-home power generation.

In the first quarter, venture capitalists invested $264 million in US clean technology such as alternative energy, pollution and recycling, power supplies and conservation, according to a MoneyTree Report by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association. It was based on data from Thomson Financial. Read More.

Clean Technology Investment Surges amidst Global Warming

American Venture Magazine - Investments in the clean technology sector soared in 2006, as venture capitalists increased spending by 78 percent to $2.9 billion. Experts say the market is hot amidst concern about global warming, higher energy prices, improved technology, and public policies enacted at the state and national levels.

The findings were released today in a new study by the Cleantech Network, a Cleantech Group Company and Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2). The full report, "Cleantech Venture Capital: How Public Policy Has Stimulated Private Investment," is available at www.e2.org and www.cleantech.com.

"It's a bull market for clean technology," said Bob Epstein, E2 co-founder and study co-author. "Investors see favorable investment opportunities for renewable energy and other technologies that offer solutions to global warming."

The report found that cleantech growth in 2006 was driven almost entirely by the energy technology sector. A significant increase in investments during the second and third quarters was driven by capital targeted for companies moving into production. Cilion, Altra, Bloom Energy, Renewable Energy Group, and Nanosolar – all of which represent new renewable energy technology or biofuels – collectively accounted for more than $600 million in investment in 2006. Read More.

VCs worry about Dems, cleantech

June 8 - Red Herring Blog - A gathering of venture capitalists and those who cater to them in San Francisco Thursday this morning yielded positive karma about the state of their community but predictions of dark clouds about taxation under a Democrat-led national government and the viability of some cleantech sectors.

The setting was the posh environs of the Four Seasons Hotel, where several hundred investors and others were meeting at the 18th annual Venture Capital Investing Conference. One of the first speakers was Dixon Doll, general partner of Menlo Pak venture firm DCM and the chairman-elect of the National Venture Capital Association. Read More.

Venture capital biofuel bubblewatch

June 6 - inside greentech - The potential for a cleantech venture bubble has been getting a lot of attention. It's always a fascinating topic: when does an investment sector get "too hot?" Expect even more attention to be paid to this topic in the near future. Read More.

Clean tech investments pull in 10 percent of US venture capital

June 6 - ars technica - Two groups that track and promote environmentally-friendly investments, cleantech and E2, have released a report on the state of the market in what they term cleantech venture capital. The report suggests that a combination of high energy prices, governmental encouragement, and public awareness of climate change have combined to cause this sector to explode. Investors who were surveyed for the report, however, fear that inconsistent government policies may leave the sector at risk of a future downturn.

The report defines cleantech as anything that uses innovative or novel technology to make better use of natural resources in a way that provides economic value. This definition is broad enough to include basic manufacturing and shipping. The numbers, however, make clear that it means one thing in practice: energy generation, storage, and distribution. This sector accounted for nearly three-quarters of the $2.9 billion of venture capital that flowed into the US cleantech field in 2006. Read More.

Energy companies make wind power a top investment

June 4 - Bloomberg - From Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to E.ON, the world's largest companies are investing in wind power, the best-performing energy in the past year.

Led by Vestas Wind Systems and Iberdrola of Spain, utilities and governments in the United States, China and Europe will spend as much as $150 billion on wind projects in the next five years, according to CLSA Research. Lawmakers are providing financial incentives because windmills are non-polluting and cost less than solar projects.

"Wind has the biggest potential to meet renewable energy targets over the next decade, compared with solar and biofuels," said Philippe de Weck, who started the Pictet Clean Energy fund last month for Pictet in Geneva. Read More.

Washington University in St. Louis to invest $55 million in renewable energy research initiative

June 4 - Washington Univ - Washington University in St. Louis is creating a new International Center for Advanced Renewable Energy and Sustainability (I-CARES) to encourage and coordinate university-wide and external collaborative research in the areas of renewable energy and sustainability — including biofuels, CO2 mitigation and coal-related issues. The university will invest more than $55 million in the initiative, according to Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton.

A key goal of I-CARES is to foster institutional, regional and international research on the development and production of biofuels from plant and microbial systems and the exploration of sustainable alternative energy and environmental systems and practices. Research at the center will also focus on the region's important coal resources and efforts to mitigate carbon dioxide accumulation, improve combustion processes and reduce emissions. I-CARES will operate under the direction of Himadri B. Pakrasi, Ph.D., the George William and Irene Koechig Freiberg professor of biology in Arts & Sciences, and professor of energy in the School of Engineering. Read More.

Vestas, Gamesa Make Wind Top Energy Market Investment

June 4 - Bloomberg - From General Electric Co. to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. to E.ON AG, the world's largest companies are investing in wind power, the best-performing energy in the past year.

Led by Vestas Wind Systems A/S and Spain's Iberdrola SA, utilities and governments in the U.S., China and Europe will spend as much as $150 billion on wind projects in the next five years, according to CLSA Research Ltd., part of Credit Agricole SA. Lawmakers are providing financial incentives because windmills are non-polluting and cost less than solar projects.

"Wind has the biggest potential to meet renewable energy targets over the next decade compared with solar and biofuels,'' said Philippe de Weck, who started the Pictet Clean Energy fund last month for Geneva-based Pictet & Cie., which manages $301 billion overall. Read More.

Asia Leads Cleantech Spending

May 31 - Red Herring - Global spending on new energy and environmental technologies is slated to grow 14 percent this year to more than $55 billion with Asia maintaining its leading role, a research group said Thursday.

A report by New York-based Lux Research also showed that Asian countries, particularly China, Japan, and South Korea, in 2006 slightly increased their lead over the U.S. and European nations when it came to cleantech R&D spending by governments and corporations.

“Unlike previous technology waves in information and biotech…the U.S. is not leading the world,” said Matthew Nordan, president of Lux Research, in a prepared statement. “The Asia/Pacific region takes first place in government funding, corporate R&D spending, and scientific publications while the U.S. only leads in deployment of venture capital and in patents issued.” Read More.

Betting on biofuels

The McKinsey Quarterly - Billions of dollars, euros, pounds, and reais are pouring into biofuels. High fuel prices and generous regulatory support have given the industry healthy margins and relatively short investment payback times. Meanwhile, the triumphs of the first movers and dreams of future growth are enticing companies in industries from petroleum and agribusiness to biotechnology, chemicals, engineering, and financial services. And of course, the allure of a greener future has raised the expectations of investors and bystanders who hope that biofuels will help meet the world’s energy needs while lowering greenhouse gas emissions.

Can biofuels deliver? The answer appears contingent on fuel prices as well as three other variables that directly influence the profitability and environmental impact of biofuels: the cost and availability of feedstock, government regulation, and conversion technologies. All are in flux, so an investment today is a bet on how these interrelated factors will evolve. Feedstock costs vary tremendously by region and could change significantly in the years ahead. Governments may alter the industry’s ground rules to match changing priorities in climate change, energy security, and economic development. The energy, cost, and carbon efficiency of various biofuels are already quite different, and new conversion technologies could make them even more so—at different rates in different regions. Decisions about where to produce and distribute biofuels could have dramatic implications for the feasibility of the business. Read More. (subscription required)

Where Now, for the Wind?

June 1 - NY Times - There is little quixotic about wind power anymore: the FPL Group is now building a second giant wind farm right next door. And just as the cows shelter in the shadows of the turbines to escape the hot sun, a growing number of copycat companies are lining up to imitate the big bet by this company, based in Juno Beach, Fla., that wind power can work as well for shareholders as it does for environmentalists.

The nation’s wind energy capacity grew last year by 27 percent, with the industry investing $4 billion to install more than 2,400 megawatts of power — enough to provide electricity equal to the needs of more than 500,000 homes. This year, wind power could increase 26 percent, according to the American Wind Energy Association, and Wall Street is increasingly eager to finance the investment. Read More.

Exxon isn't budging on emissions stance

May 31 - Houston Chronicle - To the chagrin of some institutional investors and a few dozen protesters, Exxon Mobil Corp. shareholders voted Wednesday to keep the world's largest oil company focused on fossil fuels, rejecting proposals to set targets for greenhouse-gas emissions cuts and to move aggressively into alternative energy.

In his trademark measured style, Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson told shareholders that his company's unwillingness to invest in renewables or push for mandated caps on greenhouse gas emissions doesn't reflect opposition to either.

Rather, he reiterated the company's consistent response to criticism that it is dragging its feet in comparison to its peers: Exxon will focus on finding technological advances to create cleaner fuels and make renewables profitable without subsidies while carefully evaluating economics and outcomes in discussions of policies on emissions. Read More.

Exxon says no go on alternative energy push

May 31 - Resource Investor - Exxon Mobil Corp. shareholders voted Wednesday to keep the world's largest oil company focused on fossil fuels, rejecting proposals to set targets for greenhouse-gas emissions cuts and to move aggressively into alternative energy.

Exxon stands alone among its peers with this decision not to diversify:

• BP announced two years ago that it would earmark $8 billion through 2015 for its division featuring wind, solar and hydrogen power.
• Chevron Corp. pledged to spend nearly $5 billion for alternative and renewable energy technologies from 2002 through 2009.
• Royal Dutch Shell has spent more than $1 billion on biofuels, wind, solar and hydrogen since 2000 and distributed nearly 100 million gallons of biofuels last year.
• Total has committed more than $673 million from 2005 through 2010 on renewable initiatives and projects.
• ConocoPhillips has invested $100 million to upgrade existing domestic refineries relatively near Tyson plants to process animal fat into renewable diesel.

Interesting that Exxon Mobil’s own report The Outlook for Energy: A View to 2030 predicts peak production after 2030. This is 10 years ahead of a prediction by a U.S. government report.
Even if they don’t think carbon-based emissions are a concern, they're unwise to go against world sentiment. There’s money to be made in going with the flow. (Jon Nones)

Global cleantech spending set for 14 percent growth this year, says Lux Research

May 31 - Lux Research - Spending on the development of new energy and environmental technologies -- aka cleantech -- is projected to grow by 14 percent in 2007 to exceed $55 billion worldwide, according to Lux Research. The analysts forecast corporate and government spending up by 10 percent and venture capital on track to double. The study finds leadership in these technologies increasingly lies in Asian countries like Japan, China, and South Korea -- not in the U.S. Read More.