Earth Equity News

Clean Tech Still Sizzles as Venture Investments Cool. By Claire Cain Miller, NYTimes, January 27, 2009. "Venture investing slowed to a crawl in 2008, the first year since 2003 that total investments declined. When investors did decide to dole out dollars, they were more likely than not to invest in green technology start-ups... pouring $4.1 billion into 277 clean-tech start-ups, 52% more than they invested in 2007... Venture investors continue to favor solar energy and photovoltaic companies, which received $1.8 billion in 2008 -- nearly half of the money that went to clean energy companies. The top three deals were Nanosolar, a solar-cell maker that raised $300 million; Solyndra, a photovoltaic solar company that raised $219 million; and SolarReserve, which builds utility-scale solar power plants and raised $140 million... Battery start-ups received $224 million, or 5 percent. That will likely rise this year, as lithium-ion battery makers are receiving increased attention from investors and car companies."