So, finally after months of fretting about whether the incentives for solar (& other renewables) will be extended (the senate having rejected 8 different versions of the bill to date), the credits got tagged on to the $700B bailout package and finally got passed last Friday!
The $700 billion bailout package has passed the House — along with the tax credits for renewable energy. The bill now goes to President Bush, who is expected to sign.
In any case, news of investments into solar and cleantech, in general, has kept coming almost on a weekly basis, irrespective of the downturn in the economy or what was happening with renewable energy credits in the Senate & the House.
If news from late August of Nanosolar raising $300M was huge, then today's news is doubly so.
NYT also reported the same amount today, though I am confused by a conflicting report at Greentech Media just yesterday that Solyndra was finding it difficult to raise $350 million due to the current credit crunch. (The same site also has another article on how "beleaguered financial markets make it tough to borrow money from banks or raise cash on the public markets" and how this is leading to solar companies turning to private-equity firms for cash.
[Btw, Solyndra makes not solar panels but solar tubes that look like "old school fluorescent lightbulbs", it seems!]
Irrespective of the details of this particular company's investment situation, it is clear that a lot of money has been flowing into Cleantech this year. In Business Week, there is an article today about how alternative energy is where the venture capital is these days and earlier this month (on Oct 2nd), Ernst & Young reported the results of a new survey of 150 of the world's largest companies that found that "90 per cent are now undertaking climate change initiatives with disclosed financial commitments of $276bn over the next decade."
Ernst & Young's Venture Insights reveal that as a proportion of global venture capital investment, clean technology has grown from 1.6% of total investment in 2003 to 11% in 2008, with investments set to exceed the record $3 billion invested last year, having already reached $2.2 billion in the first six months of 2008.
Also: U.S. to Attract More Foreign Greentech Investments (Oct 6)
and Greentech Investments See Record 3Q (Sep 30)
And the trend continues in 2009, per a report in late September by KPMG: Clean-tech investments to rise in 2009.
So, here's hoping that I see more and more solar panels on residential and commercial roofs when I go out for my daily walk. (Even in liberal pro-renewable energy Boston, the number of such roofs that I see are far too few today.)
P.S. Having painted this positive picture, it would be remiss of me to not point out today that the stock market and especially solar stocks took a beating on Wall Street today. Many solar companies have hit a 52 week low. However, from what I see, this sell-off has stemmed from a report by an analyst (at Goldman Sachs) who thinks there is a credit crunch and also a situation of over-supply in the solar market. However, my personal feeling is that this is a temporary dip in the market but long term market prospects for the solar industry are great, especially after the incentives got extended on Friday. A lot of investment has gone into solar already and while individual companies may be failures or successes, the overall industry is moving ahead strongly.
Disclaimer: Note here that while I am interested in solar and trying to get a break into that industry, I do not work in solar and so do not have any insider information on any of these companies.
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