Summary
An increasing number of financial investors are taking an interest in "clean technology" as new companies, ideas and technologies emerge and improve.
Original source:
http://news.com.com/Investors+see+green+in+clean+tech/2100-7337_3-5796707.html?tag=nefd.top
Details
The phrase "clean technology" may conjure up largely unfulfilled 1970s-era promises to replace fossil fuels with solar energy.
But new companies and clean tech ideas are attracting more interest from technology veterans such as Epstein and from mainstream venture capitalists looking for the next big thing.
Bill Joy, a co-founder of Sun Microsystems who joined venture firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers earlier this year, said he sees a "huge opportunity to create new more-efficient forms of energy and apply that to the economy."
Other high-profile investors, such as Vinod Khosla and John Doerr, also of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, have said they're exploring clean tech, while Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page were early investors in Nanosolar.
Some recent examples of growing investor confidence include solar energy companies HelioVolt, Energy Innovations and Nanosolar, which each announced substantial venture funding in the past few months.
Though the amount of money dedicated to clean technology start-ups is a fraction of what goes into technology overall, entrepreneurs and investors say the field is showing signs of a maturing and potentially profitable industry.
"Fundamentally what's changed more than anything else is the technology," said Nicholas Parker, chairman of investment group Cleantech Venture Network.
As technologies to reduce industrial waste or cut down on pollutants improve, businesses are increasingly willing to invest in products for financial reasons, rather than simply to comply with regulations as they've done in the past, Parker said.
That demand, coupled with new technologies, is helping to solidify the industry and create opportunities for entrepreneurs, he said.
Making the jump Vivek Tandon has already made the transition from the information
technology industry to clean tech.
Tandon looked at the environmental technology arena in the 1980s but decided it was too early to jump in.
About the author: Mike Adams is a natural health author and award-winning journalist with a strong interest in personal health, the environment and the power of nature to help us all heal He has authored and published thousands of articles, interviews, consumers guides, and books on topics like health and the environment, and he has authored and published several downloadable personal preparedness courses including a downloadable course focused on safety and self defense. Adams is a trusted, independent journalist who receives no money or promotional fees whatsoever to write about other companies' products. In 2010, Adams created TV.NaturalNews.com, a natural living video sharing site featuring thousands of user videos on foods, fitness, green living and more. He also founded an environmentally-friendly online retailer called BetterLifeGoods.com that uses retail profits to help support consumer advocacy programs. He's also the CEO of a highly successful email newsletter software company that develops software used to send permission email campaigns to subscribers. Adams also serves as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a non-profit consumer protection group, and enjoys outdoor activities, nature photography, Pilates and martial arts training. Known on the 'net as 'the Health Ranger,' Adams shares his ethics, mission statements and personal health statistics at www.HealthRanger.org
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Friday, July 29, 2005
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