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BLOG - Cleantech beats economic slowdown
Climate Capital Network (http://www.climatecapital.net) - Madonna, Paul McCartney and Google are doing it and private equity has followed. Going green is cooler than ever, according to data published by researcher New Energy Finance. The clean energy sector received a record level of investment from venture capital and private equity firms this year following a surge of more than $5bn (€3.3bn) in the second quarter, according to the data. The combined global total of $8.4bn in the first half represented a 17% increase from the $7.2bn invested in the sector in the same period last year and a 65% increase from the same period in 2006.
Deal sizes have grown too. Investment bank Jefferies published its fifth cleantech review which found a significant increase in financing rounds of more than $100m in the US. In the second quarter this year, nine companies raised more than $1bn from private equity funds, smashing the previous record of $422m from the third quarter last year. Ethanol producer Osage Bioenergy raised the most with $300m.