WORLD MONEY BUYING NEW ENERGY

Across the Globe, Big Corporate Dollars Aiming at Clean Tech
Clint Wilder, May 31, 2011 (Clean Edge)

"…As 2011 nears its halfway point and the world economy continues its slow recovery, a lot of big money is leading directly to clean tech. In the second quarter alone, three big deals in particular tell us a lot about this current trend…point toward a future of energy transformation…

"…French oil and energy giant Total SA, the world’s 14th largest corporation, offered to take a 60 percent stake in…solar PV stalwart SunPower, for $1.38 billion…Japanese computer/electronics icon Toshiba said it will acquire Swiss electricity meter manufacturer Landis & Gyr, an increasingly influential player in smart meters and other smart-grid technology, for $2.3 billion…Home improvement retailer Lowe’s, a Fortune 50 company with nearly $50 billion in revenue, took an undisclosed minority stake in fast-growing solar installer/lessor Sungevity…[and] Sungevity’s rival installers SolarCity and SunRun have a similar arrangement with Home Depot…"

Working its way back up after a big drop (click to enlarge)

"…[W]ith corporate pursestrings starting to loosen up more than they have since the 2008 financial meltdown, large companies across the globe – from a variety of industry sectors – are looking to clean tech for new business opportunities…[Clean Edge has] written about the inevitability of the global transition to a clean-energy economy for the past decade…[In any] fundamental long-range shift in history, entrenched interests can take a very long time to shift. But sometimes, change can happen very quickly – just ask the former rulers of Egypt and Tunisia.

"Another potential game-changer for the global future of energy, clearly fueling this trend, is the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan. Its shock waves are starting to play out…[B]oth Germany and Switzerland announced that they intend to phase out all nuclear power in roughly the next two decades and Japan, while not planning to shutter all of its plants, has announced the end of new nuclear power plant construction in favor of renewables, smart grid, conservation, and other clean-energy options…"

Working its way back up after a big drop (click to enlarge)

"With the business potential of nuclear power considerably dimmed, companies are seeking alternate paths, and seeing opportunities in smart grid and efficiency as well as clean-energy generation…Petroleum prices are rising, leading to more fuel-efficient car sales from General Motors and others, while solar prices are falling dramatically, sparking record growth in PV installations around the world. Anyone want to bet against those trends continuing? …

"…What about coal? It’s clearly still growing in China and India, but in the past four years, more than 100 of the proposed 151 new coal-fired power plants in the U.S. have been cancelled, abandoned, or placed on hold. That doesn’t sound like a good growth market…The real incentives for business are future profits, and from Total’s corporate boardrooms in Courbevoie, France, to Toshiba’s in Tokyo, and Lowe’s in Mooresville, North Carolina, there’s a growing belief that solar and other sectors of clean tech are the path to reach them. That’s the current trend of smart business investment around the globe…"