Clean-energy funds soar
EE Times San Jose, Calif. — U.S. venture capital funding for the booming clean-energy sector reached record levels in 2006, according to a report from Clean Edge Inc. and Nth Power.
The findings show that VC investments in energy tech startups rose 262 percent to $2.4 billion last year. These investments--primarily in transportation and fuels, distributed energy, energy intelligence and power reliability--eclipsed the previous high-water mark, set in 2000, by more than $1 billion.
"Energy tech investing in the U.S. now represents nearly 10 percent of the total venture activity," said Rodrigo Prudencio, a partner for Nth Power (Oakland, Calif.), a venture capital firm. This year, he said, "will clearly be an indicator of whether the aggressive growth in energy tech investment can be sustained."
Overall, worldwide clean-energy markets are projected to quadruple in the next decade, from $55.4 billion in revenue in 2006 to more than $226.5 billion by 2016, according to Clean Edge, a Portland, Ore., research firm. |