Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Cleantech Investments Hit $4.7B In 2008

Clean technology investments reached a record $4.7 billion, across 186 financing deals in 2008, according to a new analysis by Ernst & Young released Tuesday. According to the analysis, based on data from Dow Jones Venture Source, there was a 68% increase in capital invested in the industry in 2008. Numbers were down for Q4--$954M for just the quarter--but the numbers were a huge jump compared to historical investments in clean technology, which back in 2002 only totaled $234M.

For the quarter, the investment boom in clean technology was led by solar companies and other companies in the energy/electricity generation segment, where $539M was invested in Q4 of 2008. $444M of that was in solar companies, with three of the top five deals in Q4 all based in California. Other segments seeing activity were alternative fuels ($236M in Q4), and energy efficiency ($68M in Q4).

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