First published in the Quoted Cleantech newsletter, April 2011. Copyright Cleantech Investor 2011

Confidence is returning to the renewables M&A market, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers.

A recent report from the firm found that deal volumes in North America increased by 71% during the last twelve months, with deal values rising by 43% to $12.9 billion. However, recent regulatory uncertainty seems to be clouding the environment in Europe: although deal volumes rose by 50% in the region, deal values fell by more than half. Certainly the latest regulatory ambiguity in the UK and Italy have had an effect on sentiment when it comes to cleantech equities.

First published in the Quoted Cleantech newsletter, January 2011. Copyright Cleantech Investor 2011

Happy New Year and welcome to the first issue of Quoted Cleantech in 2011. As the performance of cleantech indices shows, 2010 proved a poor year generally for cleantech investors, so we are all looking for a better performance in 2011.

My own view is that further crises in the eurozone will ensure that the path to profits this year is anything but smooth, as governments cut subsidies and incentives for schemes in the solar and wind sectors, while the investment community in general remains cautious. But the strong comeback shown by cleantech shares during December does provide some hope for those looking for overall growth from the sector in the coming year.

First published in the Quoted Cleantech newsletter, December 2010. Copyright Cleantech Investor 2010

A recent meeting with Wasabi Energy – a new addition to London’s Alternative Investment Market – left me feeling even more excited than usual about prospects for clean energy, and energy efficiency in particular, during the next few years.

Last month saw the publication of “unmistakeable” evidence of climate change by the British Meteorological Office and its US counterpart, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The annual report, called ‘State of the Climate’, draws on the work of over 100 scientists from more than 20 institutions and includes data from 10 key climate indicators that, says the Met Office, all point to the same finding: the world is warming.