Blog Contributors
- Alan Bickerstaff
- David L. Concannon
- Roger D. Feldman
- J. Matthew Lyons
- Bonnie Rubey McMurtry
- Siddharth "Sid" Sethy
- Daniel J. Swendsen
- Mark J. Thurber
- Sean S. Wooden
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REFF Creates Ripples in the Clean Technology Industry
The Renewable Energy Finance Forum (REFF) held in New York this week is the annual event where industry leaders and wannabes meet and greet. It is a barometer of the industry's self confidence and prospect assessment. This is the year of the "game face." There is serious concern about industry prospects, notably sustained demand for wind. Solar's costs are declining, but sustained market interest in the absence of feed in tariffs, strong Renewable Energy Standards/RECs availability, is still problematic. The absence of US players and US banks in the project finance market drew notice. The effect on energy price points of shale gas on renewables competitiveness in particular, was noted as a major threat, as was the declining prospects of systematic carbon regulation.
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Categories: Biofuels, Biomass, Clean Technology, Conference Updates, Emerging Markets, Energy, Federal Funding, Renewable Energy, Solar Energy, Wind Energy
Biomass: State of the Industry
I attended the recent Department of Energy Biomass industry conference in late March. The atmosphere was very positive, and unlike other events where there is substantial uncertainty, the companies and participants were nearly uniformly optimistic about the state of the industry. A couple of companies were openly discussing filing for IPOs in late 2010 or early 2011. They seemed to be realistic goals. Many of the companies in attendance were pleased with the fact that the timeframe for DOE grants, after having slown down the industry as a whole, has been met and that money from that sector is flowing. Private market participants indicated that this would help them fund companies.
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Categories: Biofuels, Biomass, Business Market Developments, Clean Technology, Conference Updates, Domestic Issues, Emerging Markets, Federal Funding, Government Policy, New Investment Opportunities, Venture Capital Trends
Reauthorization of ARPA-E
The Advanced Projects Research Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) was established within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in 2007 under the America COMPETES Act. ARPA-E is modeled after the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the agency responsible for technological innovations such as the Internet and the stealth technology used in modern fighter aircrafts. ARPA-E’s mission is to identify and to fund transformational technologies that reduce the U.S.’s dependence on foreign energy imports, reduce U.S. energy related emissions (including greenhouse gases) and improve energy efficiency. Though ARPA-E was authorized without an initial budget, ARPA-E received $400 million in funding in April 2009 through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
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Categories: Federal Funding
The Slow Money Showcase
On April 21, 2010, an event featuring an exciting new investment sector is taking place at Austin City Hall. The Slow Money Showcase is a half-day event aimed at informing the investment community about opportunities in the sustainable and local food sector. We believe that entrepreneurs and venture capitalists interested in clean technology or sustainable investing should consider attending this event. The genesis of this event came out of the recent Agriculture 2.0 conference. According to Paul Matteucci of US Venture Partners, “Feeding nearly 10 billion people by 2050—without destroying the planet—poses both a daunting problem and an enormous investment opportunity.” The Slow Money Showcase happening in Austin wants to ensure that Texas entrepreneurs and investors are informed of the opportunities in this emerging sector.
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Categories: Austin Food Sector, Clean Technology, Emerging Markets, Federal Funding, New Investment Opportunities, Sustainability, Sustainable Agriculture, Texas State Financing, Venture Capital Trends
Evaluating Clean Tech Investment in Clean Transportation
Clean transportation companies are emerging players in the clean tech space. What will it take to make them successful? The answer: linkage to the continuing national call for “sustainability.” The reason is this: Transportation is a basic service whose comparative economic value is driven by its cost effectiveness for different purposes in different contexts. Clean transportation, like “clean energy”, is a market in which the parameters for success are also effectively defined by law and by public opinion. Once embedded in our economy, these additional standards serve to validate to consumers, and therefore to manufacturers, and therefore to investors, the costs incurred and tradeoffs made to meet these additional standards.
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Categories: Business Market Developments, Carbon, Clean Transportation, Domestic Issues, Federal Funding, Government Policy, Regulatory
