Will Green Investments See Green?

from the a-little-late-to-the-game dept

Wed, Mar 8th 2006 8:06am — Joseph Weisenthal

Venture capital investments in "green technology" hit a record level in 2005, at a whopping $1.6 Billion, 35% higher than in 2004, with that figure almost certainly set to grow again this year. This may or may not be a bubble, depending on the quality of the deals, though either way it could end up well for consumers and the economy if new energy solutions are commercialized. But will it mean profits for VC backers? It's not enough to predict that clean energy will grow in the future, to make a profit one has to exploit unappreciated opportunities. With oil still over $60/barrel, and a Republican president talking about weaning the US off of the stuff, the industry isn't really showing foresight. There are probably still ways to profit from the energy crunch, like technologies that reduce moving parts or the need to travel, but the obvious investments in energy technology may not provide the big returns VCs expect.

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Andrew Strasser, 8 Mar 2006 @ 9:01am

Reasearch Era.
We are in serious need of a research era and I've not played a sim yet that only reasearches a year at a time. Most research projects take many years to complete.
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pooopstainzmcgraw, 8 Mar 2006 @ 9:28am

No Subject Given
In general, investors know a lot more than what the average reader knows. Access to information is how people make money in the market. So frankly, your wrong.
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Jason, 8 Mar 2006 @ 10:10am

RE: Will Green Investments See Green?
Hi, there is one thing to consider. The last time something like this was said about a topic with so much potnetial to make businesses more productive cost efficient, and more self sustaining, was when they said Apple wouldn't work. That the PC wasn't useful. So I wouldn't be so quick to write of the Green index. All it has been lacking is money...now it's getting it. Shortly the cat will be out of the bag and the world change for the better.
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Louis, 26 Jul 2006 @ 6:37am

Green Venture Capital
The UK has long been investing in green technology. This may be due to the country's lower access to fossil fuels. The US population only becomes interested in green technology when their is an energy crisis and high energy prices. As soon as the price of fuels goes back down, then lack of interest sets back in.

Many in the US go by a common sense yet false economizing and short term thinking. One thinks if I save a dollar today, then I will have more money in the future. This is why Wal Mart is so successful in the United States. Wal Mart offers false economy, and Americans eat it up. They are not thinking how about how long the item will last, only how much it costs.

The same problem occurs with energy. People only think about the price of energy, not how long it will last. Some renewable energy sources may last indefinitely though they are more expensive initially. It is not how much it costs, but how long it lasts that is important in economizing.
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Sep 2006 @ 10:59pm

great thing is that we don't have a choice!
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Sep 2006 @ 10:59pm

great thing is that we don't have a choice!
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Rico Velas, 16 Dec 2007 @ 4:04pm

You poor ignorant fools!
Don't you all see that the Americans haven't a THING to do with these rantings and ravings concerning "global warming",
carbon emissions, the ever-omnicient de-forestation issues,
and Al Gore's high tides and drowned polar bears??? The United States are but a minuscule blip on the geological scale of our beloved planet. All of your soppy, hand-wringing, worried concerns are easily mitigated by simple study of history, biology, and some basic physics!! RELAX!!
Your children will thank you for letting the Earth simply be
itself! Love our Earth, then love yourselves!
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