image: SolFocus In The New York Times on Wednesday, I write about the year-end green tech investing numbers for 2009: In a flurry of dealmaking bolstered by government subsidies for renewable energy, venture capitalists invested $5.6 billion in green technology companies worldwide in 2009, according to a preliminary report released Wednesday by the Cleantech Group [...]
Archive for the ‘green financing’ Category
Green tech investing down but on the rebound
Posted in alternative energy, electric cars, energy, energy efficiency, enviro startups, environment, green financing, solar energy, tagged clean tech investing, green technology, venture capital on January 6, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Paging Dr. Chu, venture capitalist
Posted in alternative energy, BrightSource Energy, climate change, enviro startups, environment, global warming, green financing, green policy, green startups, investment tax credit, tagged BrightSource Energy, Department of Energy, green tech startups, green technology, Silicon valley, venture capital on October 14, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
photo: Stefano Paltera/DOE In my new Green State column on Grist (I’m stealing the above headline from Grist executive editor Russ Walker), I take a look at the state of green tech venture investing gleaned from a recent seminar at the University of California, Berkeley: Silicon Valley is by nature an optimistic place. After all, [...]
SolarCity scores $100 million to finance solar arrays
Posted in alternative energy, climate change, enviro startups, environment, green financing, green startups, renewable energy, solar energy, SolarCity, tagged investment tax credit, residential solar, SolarCity, tax equity partnerships, U.S. Bancorp on September 29, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
photo: SolarCity When Wall Street collapsed last year so did tax equity funds, the primary vehicle to finance renewable energy development. But as I write in The New York Times today, investors are beginning to jump back into the game. U.S. Bancorp has agreed to finance $100 million of solar installations in 2009 for California [...]
Vinod Khosla: Green tech must pass “Chindia” test
Posted in alternative energy, biofuels, climate change, enviro capitalism, enviro startups, environment, green financing, green startups, renewable energy, tagged Calera, green tech, Khosla Ventures, venture capital, Vinod Khosla on September 24, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
photo: Ausra In my new Green State column on Grist, I sit down with legendary Silicon Valley venture capitalist Vinod Khosla to talk about his approach to green tech. Khosla — who raised a record $1.1 billion for green tech investing earlier this month — believes that unless a technology can scale and be adopted [...]
Green tech changes venture capital game
Posted in alternative energy, BrightSource Energy, energy, energy efficiency, enviro capitalism, enviro startups, environment, global warming, green chemicals, green financing, green policy, Nanosolar, renewable energy, solar energy, solar power plants, Solyndra, Tesla Motors, the green economy, tagged Alan Salzman Mohr Davidow Ventures, green technology, Khosla Ventures, Marianne Wu, Silicon valley, VantagePoint Venture Capital, venture capitalists, Vinod Khosla on September 21, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
photo: eSolar In Sunday’s Los Angeles Times, I write about how the rise of green technology is changing the way Silicon Valley venture capitalists do business: Silicon Valley venture capitalists have always been about inventing the future — taking a wild idea, nurturing it with cash and creativity and giving birth to new products, companies [...]
Green tech investing is back — with a vengeance
Posted in alternative energy, biofuels, energy, energy efficiency, enviro capitalism, enviro startups, environment, green financing, green startups, green tech, tagged CalPERS, clean tech, Cleantech Group, green tech investing, Khosla Ventures, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Vinod Khosla on September 1, 2009 | 1 Comment »
photo: Ausra In Wednesday’s Los Angeles Times, I write about green tech guru Vinod Khosla’s new $1.1 billion venture funds — the biggest first-time fund since the halcyon days of the dot-com era a decade ago and and a strong signal that investors see a bright future in clean and green technologies. CalPERS, the United [...]
Green tech investment plummets
Posted in enviro startups, green financing, green startups, green tech, tagged green tech, solar, venture capital investment on April 1, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Along with the rest of the economy, venture capital investment in green technology has fallen off the proverbial cliff, according to a survey released Wednesday by market research firm the Cleantech Group. Global investment in renewable energy, electric cars and other green tech dropped 48% to $1 billion in the first quarter of 2009 from [...]
Spanish firm acquires big U.S. solar financier
Posted in alternative energy, climate change, energy, environment, global warming, green financing, MMA Renewable Ventures, renewable energy, solar energy, solar power plants, SunPower, Suntech, tagged consolidation, Fotowatio, Gemini, MMA Renewable Ventures, solar energy, solar financing, SunPower, Suntech on March 2, 2009 | 1 Comment »
photo: WorldWater & Solar Technologies The consolidation of the solar industry got underway Monday with the acquisition of San Francisco-based green energy financier MMA Renewable Ventures by Spanish solar developer Fotowatio. The Madrid-based company will purchase most of MMA Renewable’s solar assets – including the world largest photovoltaic power plant and its pipeline of projects [...]
Berkeley hands out solar checks
Posted in alternative energy, energy, green financing, green policy, renewable energy, solar energy, Sungevity, SunPower, tagged Berkeley, Berkeley FIRST, city-financed solar systems, solar panels on February 27, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
photo: Sungevity Berkeley on Friday hands over checks to the first two homeowners who tapped the California city’s pioneering solar financing program to install solar arrays. The city fronts the cash for rooftop solar panels for any Berkeley business or homeowner, who pays back the cost through a 20-year surcharge on their property tax bill. [...]
PG&E chief: We’ll be solar’s ‘green knight’
Posted in alternative energy, climate change, corporate green, environment, First Solar, green financing, green startups, green tech, investment tax credit, MMA Renewable Ventures, PG&E, renewable energy, solar energy, solar power plants, Southern California Edison, SunPower, Suntech, tagged PG&E, photovoltaic solar, solar energy, solar power plants on February 24, 2009 | 3 Comments »
photo: Optisolar SAN FRANCISCO — With the financial crisis dimming solar’s prospects to become a significant source of renewable energy, utility giant PG&E on Tuesday said it will spend $1.4 billion over five years to install 250 megawatts’ worth of photovoltaic panels in California while contracting with private developers for another 250 megawatts. PG&E chief [...]
