Abstract
Renewable Energy Investment in the U.S. is the first research study to focus exclusively on the emerging renewable energy (RE) investment market in the United States, a vast and complex market in the process of rapid evolution. Four primary RE technology sectors are covered: solar power, wind power, biofuels, and fuel cells.
Renewable Energy Investment in the U.S. demystifies the financial complexities surrounding the rapidly evolving RE market and clearly explains the new investment architecture taking shape to support RE-involving a blending of venture capital and private equity firms, banks, brokers, funds, corporations, and governments.
The report explores the new financial vehicles being created to fund RE development-including power purchase agreements, renewable energy credits, and potential carbon markets.
Report Methodology
These report data were obtained from government sources, trade associations and publications, business journals, company literature, investment reports, and blogs in the investor and RE communities.
What You' ll Get in this Report
Purchasers of Renewable Energy Investment in the U.S will come away with a thorough grasp of the primary RE sectors in terms of both technology and investment trends. This report contains several unique features not found anywhere else:
- It provides five-year estimates (2002-2006) for U.S. RE investment spanning both private and public sector;
- It provides five-year projections (2007-2011) for U.S. RE investment that take into account the current credit crisis;
- It offers a provocative take on both the history and future of the RE market; and
- The current state of RE market competition is described in depth.
How You Will Benefit from this Report
Business purchasers of Renewable Energy Investment in the U.S. will benefit by gaining a clear picture of who is investing in RE, what RE sectors these investors are investing in, and why they are investing.
Investors who purchase this study will realize several benefits, including the following:
- They are provided with a comprehensive roundup of major RE investment deals that took place in 2006 and first-half 2007;
- They receive an independent assessment of current RE trends and market drivers;
- They are presented with a unique "meta-perspective" on the RE investment market itself, featuring snapshots of venture capital firms and RE investor-targeted media companies.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Executive Summary
- Study Parameters
- Scope and Focus
- Investor Classifications
- Private Investors
- Institutional Investors
- Public Investors: Governments
- Nonprofit Investors
- RE Technology Sectors: Solar Power
- Wind Power
- BioFuels
- Fuel Cells
- Market Size, Growth, and Composition
- U.S. Market Estimates: 2002-2006
- Dollar Value: By Investment Sector
- U.S. RE VC Investment: 2002-2006
- Market Projections
- RE Investors
- Number of Investors: VC Firms
- VCs in RE
- Private Equity in RE
- Banks and Brokers in RE
- SRI Funds in RE
- Investment Trends
- VC Firms and Solar Investment
- VC/PE Firms and Biofuel Investment
- VC Firms and Fuel Cell Investment
- VC Firms and Wind Investment
- RE-Targeted Mutual Funds
- RE Stock Indexes
- RE ETFs Springing Up
- Public/Private Partnerships
- RE Investment Information Distribution
- Primary Channels of Information Distribution
- Secondary Channels of Information Distribution
- Hybrid Information Providers
- Blogs
- RE Surveys
- VC Survey on RE Future
- Utility Poll on RE Future
- One General Pattern
Chapter 2 Introduction
- Study Parameters
- Scope and Focus
- Table 2-1 The U.S. Market for Investment in Renewable Energy: Study Focus
- Sector
- Primary Focus
- Secondary Focus
- Note on the U.S. Market
- Sectors Excluded
- RE Investment Sectors
- Overview
- Investor Classifications
- Private Investors
- Venture Capital Firms
- Private Equity Firms
- Investment Banks/Brokers
- Corporations
- Other Private Investors
- Institutional Investors
- Types of Funds
- Mutual Funds
- Exchange-Traded Funds
- SRIs and Green Funds
- Hedge Funds
- Public Investors: Governments
- Other Public Investors
- Nonprofit Investors
- RE Technology Sectors
- Definitions and Terms
- Elastic Parameters
- Table 2-2 Renewable Energy Sectors: Broad Interpretation
- Narrow Parameters
- Electricity vs. Fuel
- Distributed vs. Centralized Generation
- Note on Abbreviations
- Solar Power
- Wind Power
- BioFuels
- Fuel Cells
- Hydroelectric Power
- Geothermal Power
- Wave/Tidal Power
- Biomass/Biogas
- Alternative Vehicles
- RE Architecture and Infrastructure
- Historical Context
- Two Phases in Modern Energy History
- 1970s: Terrestrial Energy Limits
- RE Overdue
- The Space Investment Space
- Government and the Energy Crisis
- 1980s: Trying Times for RE
- 1990s: United States Loses Its Lead
- Growing Alarm over Global Warming
- Into the First 2K Decade: A Cottage Industry
- Wake-Up Call
Chapter 3 The Market
- Market Size, Growth, and Composition
- Quantification Difficulties
- Conflicting Models
- Research Firms
- U.S. Market Estimates: 2002-2006
- Table 3-1 Estimated Dollar Value: U.S. RE Investment Market (2002-2006) ($ Billions)
- Dollar Value and Share: By Investment Sector
- Table 3-2 Estimated Dollar Value: U.S. RE Investment Market by Sector, 2006 ($ Billions)
- Table 3-3 Estimated Share Value: U.S. RE Investment Market by Sector, 2006 (Percent)
- Share of U.S. vs. Global RE Investment
- Figure 3-1 Share of RE Investment Market: United States vs. Rest of World (ROW), 2006
- Project Finance: Composition
- Figure 3-2 Estimated Share of U.S. RE Project Finance: By Technology Sector, 2006
- R&D: Composition
- Figure 3-3 Estimated Share of U.S. R&D Expenditures: Corporate vs. Government, 2006
- Stock Markets: Composition
- Figure 3-4 Estimated Share of U.S. RE Stock Market Investment: By Technology Sector, 2006
- Venture Capital Investment: Various Estimates
- U.S. RE VC Investment: 2002-2006
- Table 3-4 Estimated Dollar Value: U.S. Venture Capital Investment (2002-2006) ($ Millions)
- VC Investment: Composition
- Table 3-5 Estimated VC Investment by RE Sector: 2006 ($ Millions)
- Sector
- Perspectives on VC Investment
- Private Equity: Composition
- M&A Activity: Value and Composition
- Institutional Investing: Value and Composition
- Note on 2007
- RE Market Sales
- Factors in Future Growth
- Overview: All Factors Positive But One
- Population Demographics
- Global Warming
- NRE Limits
- RE and Pricing
- Government Factors
- The Credit Crisis
- Market Projections
- Positive Outlook Foreseen
- RE Investment Market to Double
- Table 3-6 Market Projections U.S. RE Investment Market: 2007-2011 ($ Billions)
Chapter 4 RE Investors
- Overview
- Number of RE Companies
- Number of Investors: VC Firms
- VCs in RE
- Private Equity in RE
- Banks and Brokers in RE
- SRI Funds in RE
- RE Investors
- VC Firms
- Table 4-1 Selected List: Venture Capital Firms in the U.S. RE Market
- Focus: Draper Fisher Jurvetson
- Table 4-2 Draper Fisher Jurvetson RE Portfolio Companies, 2007
- Focus: Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers
- Table 4-3 Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers RE Portfolio Companies, 2007
- Private Equity Firms
- Table 4-4 Selected List: Private Equity Firms in the US RE Market
- Investment (and Commercial) Banks
- Table 4-5 Selected List: Investment Banks in the US RE Market
- Table 4-6 Selected List: Major Commercial Banks in the US RE Market
- Focus: Citigroup
- Brokerage Firms
- Focus: Goldman Sachs
- Institutional Funds
- Hedge Funds
- Corporations
- Focus: General Electric
- Utilities
- Professional Services
- Engineering Firms
- Legal Firms
- Table 4-7 Selected List: Legal Firms in the US RE Market
- Accounting and Insurance Firms
- Consulting Firms
- Professional Groups/Association
- Miscellaneous Services
- The Competitive Situation
- Competitive Levels
- RE vs. NRE
- Nation vs. Nation
- RE Sector Competition
- Traditional Competition
- Competitive Trends
- Partnering and Joint Ventures
- Consolidation
- Stratification
- Different Types of Disruptive Developments
- Solar Competition
- Table 4-8 Leading Global Solar PV Producers: 2007
- Wind Competition
- Biofuel Competition
- Fuel Cell Competition
- RE Sector Trends
- Solar Trends
- Overview
- Silicon Dominates PV
- Thin-Film Alternatives
- TF' s Disruptive Potential
- Silicon Efficiency
- Solar Thermal: Redheaded Stepchild
- Concentrating Solar Power Sparking Interest
- Solar "Products"
- Solar Investors
- Solar on the Stock Markets
- Vertical Integration
- Production Expansion
- Celebrity Investors
- Federal Government Investment in Solar
- Table 4-9 Solar Initiative America: Technology Pathway Partnerships (2007 Through 2009)
- Table 4-9cont. Solar Initiative America: Technology Pathway Partnerships (2007 Through 2009)
- New Solar Financing Models Emerging
- Solar Loan Programs
- Focus: Evergreen Solar
- Biofuel Trends
- Skyrocketing Production
- Controversies
- Cellulosic Ethanol
- Value-Added By-Products
- Investors Jump on Biofuel Bandwagon
- Governments Also Investing
- Wind Power Trends
- Most Advanced RE Sector
- Wind and Centralized Generation
- Different Investor Profile
- Sophisticated Financing Models
- Wind and Texas
- Obstacles
- Advances
- Mid/Small-Scale Opportunities
- Fuel Cell Trends
- Least Commercialized Sector
- Fuel Cell Technology Classifications
- Applications: Four Categories
- Hydrogen from RE
- MEMS FCs
- Investment Trends
- VC Firms and Solar Investment 2006
- First-Half 2007
- Table 4-9 Selected List of VC Investments in Solar Firms: 2006 and First-Half 2007
- VC/PE Firms and Biofuel Investment 2006
- Khosla Ventures
- Other Bioenergy Investors
- First-Half 2007
- Table 4-10 Selected List of VC Investments in Biofuel Firms: 2006 and First-Half 2007
- VC Firms and Fuel Cell Investment
- Table 4-1 Selected List of VC Investments in Fuel Cell Firms: 2006 and First-Half 2007
- VC Firms and Wind Investment
- Table 4-12 Selected List of VC Investments in Wind Power Firms: 2006 and First-Half 2007
- Hybrid RE Investors
- Table 4-13 Selected Examples of Hybrid-Type RE Investors Outside the United States: 2007
- Focus: Good Energies
- RE Companies on the Stock Markets
- Table 4-14 RE Companies Trading on Public Stock Markets: By Exchange and Stock Symbol, 2007
- Solar Stocks
- Wind Stocks
- Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Stocks
- Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Stocks
- Biofuel Stocks
- PIPEs
- RE-Targeted Mutual Funds
- Hedge Fund Activity Increasing
- Pension Funds Not Big Players Yet
- RE Stock Indexes
- RE ETFs Springing Up
- Public/Private Partnerships
- Focus: SRI Funds
- From Vice to Virtue
- Systems Analysis
- New Tools for Evaluation
- Growth in SRIs
- Lower Returns-But Not By Much
- SRI Examples
- Al Gore' s SRI
- Focus: Hedge Funds
- Peripheral RE Role
- Short-Term Horizons
- Hedge Funds and the Credit Crisis
- Focus: Government RE Investment
- States/Cities Take the Lead
- Fed' s Dithering Retards RE
- RE Needs Government Encouragement
- Recipe for Success
- Focus: Monetizing Ecological Attributes
- Cap-and-Trade Carbon Market
- Carbon Tax
- RECs
Chapter 5 Information Distribution
- Overview: Energy Literacy
- Primary Channels of Information Distribution
- Federal Government Research
- Academic Research
- Secondary Channels of Information Distribution
- Trade Associations
- Research Organizations
- Internet-Based RE Media Companies
- Hybrid Information Providers
- Focus: Clean Edge
- Focus: Cleantech Network LLC
- Conferences and Forums
- RE and Popular Media
- Magazines and Newspapers
- Movies and Music
- Festivals and Fairs
- Blogs
- Table 5-1 Selected List: Investment-Oriented RE Web Logs, 2007
Chapter 6 RE Psychology
- Beliefs and Attitudes
- Not Much to Go On
- VC Survey on RE Future
- Utility Poll on RE Future
- One General Pattern
- VC Enthusiasm
- VC Reluctance
- RE Analogies: Continuities and Discontinuities
- SRI Attitudes
- Consumer Attitudes
Chapter 7 RE Investment Market: Trends and Opportunities
- Overview
- Mass-Media Advertising
- VCs and Priorities
- Corporations and Clout
- End-User Financing
- Tapping Pension Funds
- Public/Private Partnerships Show Promise
- Three Niche Opportunities
