Clean Tech Investing Is Victim Of Downturn


Venture capital investing sprang back a bit in the second quarter as general partners poured money into healthcare startups.

But clean-tech investing continued to suffer. Investment levels fell back to the early days of the category in 2006.

Clearly concerns such as falling demand and over capacity weighed heavily on general partners. With an energy bill taking a back seat to healthcare, government policy also appeared a bit murky to investors.

According to Dow Jones VentureSource, venture capitalists put just $317 million into clean-tech deals in the second quarter. While that is up 52 percent from the tepid first quarter, it is down a whopping 70 percent from a year ago.

Investments in renewable energy companies fell an even greater 75 percent. Only 16 deals were done compared with 30 last year.

Expect the cold feet to continue. Venture capitalists will likely need to see the demand picture brighten before thawing out their wallets.

Unless, of course, global warming acts first.