VCs, driven by their appetite for quick results, are missing out on huge opportunities in renewable biofuels and chemicals. That leaves the market wide open to a variety of alternative investors who, if equipped with the patience needed, will realize the substantial returns that await those who can see the industry through a long lens. Only time will tell who will take (more…)

As described here, legendary environmentalist Bill McKibben’s suggestion that folks sell their holdings in fossil fuel companies has been accepted by a gathering wave of universities, churches and synagogues, city governments and pension funds. According to the article, “In the last few months, fossil fuel divestment has turned into one of the fastest-growing protest (more…)

Interest in social enterprises is growing—and believe it or not (some entrepreneurs may have their doubts), so is the pool of capital available to them.

The broad field of impact investing—which involves directing capital to enterprises that are doing good, rather than simply screening out companies that have (more…)

An innovative G20 interpretation of the rules of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) may be required to finance global environmental public goods, according to a new commentary by Barry Carin, a senior fellow at The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), which is an independent, non-partisan think tank on international (more…)

I never know what to make of the frequent references I come across to the International Monetary Fund. Who exactly are these mysterious and terribly powerful people? How do they work? What are their true motivations?

In any case, they most certainly get some points for (more…)

Governor Cuomo just announced the first round of awards for the NY-Sun Competitive PV Program – and boy is it looking bright! The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) awarded $46 million for 76 large-scale projects totaling 52 megawatts (MW) of new solar capacity, enough to power nearly 9,000 New York homes. We’re excited (more…)

Although connecting energy efficiency programs and private capital may seem like an ideal partnership, program managers from New York and Pennsylvania have found it is challenging to achieve competitive investment ratings for energy efficiency loan portfolios. Jeff Pitkin and Keith Welks discussed their experiences with accessing the secondary market in (more…)

Years ago when I was much younger and contemplating starting my own dot com company, I sat down with a successful and experienced entrepreneur who had built more than one business from scratch. This particular entrepreneur was also a former Marine, so he had earned his grey hairs and steely look in more than one way. I shared my ideas with him and he gave (more…)

After long and diligent work, my own Commonwealth of Pennsylvania announced last week that it had successfully bundled 4,700 residential energy efficiency loans, and obtained $23 million in cash and $8.3 million in deferred payments, for a projected total of $31.3 million.  The press release is available here.

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With early stage capital for cleantech innovation becoming increasingly scarce, crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter, Indiegogo and a new crop of clean/green ones are beginning to emerge as significant sources of funding for selected next-gen clean technologies.

Hurdles remain, particularly for investors seeking returns, but I’m more optimistic about these sites’ (more…)