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Ten top tips for successful cleantech investing
Being able to respond rapidly to opportunities and understanding the underlying science is critical in the cleantech sector, according to Natalie Diep, partner at Morrison & Foerster, in her ten...
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Climate change is a human rights debate, says law expert
With subsistence farmers considered to be the most vulnerable community to the effects of climate change, a majority of whom are women in poor countries, climate justice should be classed as a human...
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Environmental justice has no boundaries
Environmental problems extend across international boundaries, but there are no effective international institutions to deal with them properly. The result is that problems worsen and attempts by...
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Powered by air: Fuel cell developers achieve the unimaginable
There are a number of clean technology developers around the globe that seem to have accomplished the unthinkable, and none more so than those developing technologies that produce energy or fuel from...
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Electric vehicle study aims to speed path to adoption
In spite of initial scepticism surrounding the capability of electric vehicles (EVs) and concerns over range anxiety, they are more than capable of meeting the needs of drivers that require efficient...
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Climate financing mechanisms have power to enable cleantech investment
International climate financing mechanisms need to go beyond treating climate change as another generic emerging market risk financing problem and should support ‘real economy’ signals which address...
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A high risk strategy to secure critical investment in low carbon energy
The recent EMR White Paper from the UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change introduces the most sweeping and ambitious reforms of the British electricity markets for 30 years, including up to...
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Countdown begins for those countries turning their back on nuclear
Many countries are seeking to move in a greener direction for their energy needs and incorporate more renewable energy sources into their energy portfolio. But with countries such as Germany turning...
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Emerging economies plan growth through biomass gasification
With a growing focus on decentralised energy generation and private power generation in emerging economies, biomass gasification could provide a timely solution to South Africa’s beleaguered energy...
View ArticleInvestors wary of China’s shifting energy policy
Despite the considerable opportunities, investors may face a barrage of risks when entering China’s clean energy industry due to shifting policy and economic markers.
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Capital flows into water technology
A long-standing conservatism within an industry dominated by large industrial companies can present barriers to new innovation in the water management sector. But for forward-thinking investors, novel...
View ArticleDeveloping economies prove driving force for clean energy investment
While developed countries remain focused on slowing demand and cutting costs, a growing requirement for energy within the emerging markets now appears to be the main driving force behind renewable...
View ArticleCan China conquer the global wind market?
The biggest Chinese wind producers have announced plans for international expansion. However, the question remains: can they successfully follow in the footsteps of their solar peers?
View ArticleWill smart grid be the foundation for the internet of energy?
In a small English village a local health centre has placed its first patient on its network of smart electricity meters, highlighting the breadth of potential the smart grid space holds, writes sector...
View ArticleRe-imagining 21st Century climate institutions
Every December in recent memory the negotiations on climate change serve to raise public expectations of a ‘global deal’. And every year the outcomes fall short of this unreasonable expectation.
View ArticleFresh approach aims to slash cost of solar cells
Solar-powered electricity prices could soon approach those of power from coal or natural gas thanks to collaborative research with solar start-up Ampulse Corporation at the US Department of Energy's...
View ArticleNiche markets – Not always the start-ups’ silk route
Start-ups and niche markets are usually a happy marriage, and have formed the basis of success for many cleantech companies. However, capital scarcity and the nature of some cleantech businesses might...
View ArticleIntegrating smart grid into smart buildings results in real benefits
A real opportunity exists in developing businesses that integrate the smart grid with smart buildings, writes sector specialist Memoori.
View ArticleRio+20: Opportunities for financing the Triple Bottom Line
The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) will have a broad agenda: poverty reduction and economic growth, climate and clean energy, food security and sustainable agriculture,...
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NREL narrows energy tech emissions estimates
The question of which energy technologies generate the most greenhouse-gas emissions — cradle to grave — now has a more precise answer, thanks to a meta-analysis of life cycle assessment studies done...
View ArticleWould a minimum green allocation by pension funds make all the difference?
As a new report is released that shows pension funds alone could contribute $301bn to the green economy, there are new calls for a minimum level of asset allocation to be placed into low carbon...
View ArticleThe smart grid is dead, long live the smart grid
The literal meaning of the expression The King is Dead – Long Live the King' is that the king has died, and it is hoped that the new king will live a long time. But the reasoning for the statement goes...
View ArticleCapital market involvement holds key for clean energy financing
The issuance of ‘green bonds’ may pave the way for increased private investment, but investors must be made aware of exactly what the risks are, says ratings agency Standard & Poor’s on its return...
View ArticleProject finance needed to fund offshore wind power demands
Offshore wind is a source of great potential for investment over the next ten years. Many countries expect wind power to account for a large share of their renewable-energy investment to meet energy...
View ArticleClosed data will be the death of smart meters
In early June, the UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) published the results of smart-meter field trials, concluding that ‘in some cases there was little effect on home comfort, as...
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Protecting cleantech IP in China: The facts and myths
While China’s thirst for new clean technologies makes it a very attractive market for Western companies, they also have reserves about entering this unique business environment. One of the main...
View ArticleIt’s time for India to get serious about solar
As India’s grid struggles back to life and power is restored to 600 million people, Applied Materials’ Cathy Boone says it is time for India to fully embrace solar power.
View ArticleIndia needs better innovation ecosystem
India could be a world leader in low-cost, renewable energy technologies if it adopts the lessons on fostering innovation put forward by the US Bell Labs or the German Fraunhofer Institutes, writes...
View ArticleThe Green Climate Fund and private finance: Instruments to mobilise investment
In order to tackle climate change, governments will need to leverage a share of the $117tr of assets managed by private investors. However, various barriers and risks have prevented private sector...
View ArticleSustainability and greed: Unlikely bedfellows
‘Greed’, said Gordon Gekko, the villainous investment banker played by Michael Douglas in the 1987 film Wall Street, ‘is good’. He went on: ‘it clarifies, cuts through and captures the essence of the...
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Should confidence waiver over Japan’s green future?
The 2011 Fukushima disaster cast a spotlight on Japan’s energy sector like never before. With countries around the world making snap decisions to shut reactors, green growth in the country looked all...
View ArticleInnovation is key in food and agricultural investing
Investing in agriculture is about funding the innovation required to meet soaring demand for food, says Jürgen Siemer, senior analyst at SAM Group.
View ArticleGreen vs grey infrastructure
Climate chaos, natural resource scarcity, demographic changes and macro economic burdens are challenging governments, especially urban areas, to deal with massive infrastructure issues, writes Ben...
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Can data slow down climate change?
Development needs data: water security, oceans governance and food security need data, information, knowledge, networks and imagination to shift power in the public interest, according to James...
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The call of sirens: Is India really a good solar market?
No doubt the Indian solar market has strong fundamentals; irradiation is very high, power is expensive and in short supply and solar is getting cheaper. In addition, there are now a host of new...
View ArticleOut-the-box thinking pushes solar efficiencies
It takes outside-the-box thinking to outsmart the solar spectrum and set a world record for solar cell efficiency. The solar spectrum has boundaries and immutable rules. No matter how much solar cell...
View ArticleSmart grid drives further integration across connected real estate
2012 was a seminal year for three industries that share some fast moving technologies and vertical markets, Electronic Security, Energy Management and the emerging Smart Grid, writes Allan McHale,...
View Article2013 Year of the Water Snake: Making a splash in China
As the year of the water snake slithers into 2013, it seems quite fitting that investors are once again shifting their focus toward water-related themes, writes Junwei Hafner-Cai, analyst with...
View ArticleMaking the right communications choice for smart meter technology
As the roll-out of smart meters takes place across Europe, governments have to make a decision on the primary communication technologies that will be used to connect the meters to utility companies....
View ArticleSmart grid thrives in 2012, but framework still not there
World smart grid sales at installed prices climbed to $36.5bn in 2012 a growth of 30 per cent on 2011 and M&A activity reached $19.5bn almost doubling the value of deals in the previous year,...
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Smart grid market outperforms in 2012 but sustainability looks fragile
World smart grid sales climbed to $36.5bn in 2012 a growth of 30 per cent on 2011 and M&A activity reached $19.5bn almost doubling the value of deals in the previous year, according to memoori’s...
View ArticleMarine energy is too clean to be ignored
Anders Jansson, CEO of Minesto, shares his views on why marine energy is ‘the best of the best’ and says new technology that can harvest energy from low velocity ocean and tidal currents can multiply...
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Crossing the climate line
Earlier this month, a remote monitoring system in Hawaii recorded the first time in human history that the daily average for carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere hit over 400 parts per million...
View ArticleAdding intelligence to occupancy detection
It's a gnawing frustration of modern office life. You're sitting quietly — too quietly — in an office or carrel, and suddenly the lights go off. Grrr! Installed to save energy, the room's occupancy...
View ArticleWorld Bank scales up energy efficiency, renewables investment in emerging...
The World Bank Group is to expand access to energy, along with accelerating its efforts in energy efficiency and renewable energy.
View ArticleFood production under spotlight as yield rates slow
While rising grain yields have replaced area expansion as the principal source of growth in world production, the pace has slowed during the last two decades with fears that more countries are facing...
View ArticleRenewable energy can bring security of energy supply to vulnerable import...
The need for a secure and reliable energy supply is a seldom mentioned but very important driver for many nations moving towards clean and renewable energy supply. Paradoxically, the very factors that...
View ArticleMarket drivers force India’s solar energy takeup
The Indian solar market has undergone a gradual transition from policy-based demand to market-based demand thanks to issues such as the increase in commercial buildings, the emerging grid parity in...
View ArticleEnergy innovation requires an ecosystem that ties global firms with SMEs
Of all the companies in the world with a value of more than $10bn, only 14 have sustained high 'innovation premium' rankings consistently since 1995, according to research undertaken by Hal Gregersen,...
View ArticleWhy 2014 is a good time to be in the lighting control business
Network based lighting controls have failed to gain much traction over the last 5 years despite the benefits that they can deliver for improving operating costs and reducing CO2 emissions. So why will...
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