quotedcleantech

By Jon Mainwaring

PwC report says investment gap threatens 2020 target

Offshore wind is an industry that a number of countries around the world hope will play a significant role in paving the way towards a low-carbon economy. The attractions are obvious. Offshore wind is a non-fossil fuel source of energy that does not use valuable real estate, nor does it ’blight’ the views of the countryside or annoy residents of neighbouring homes since offshore wind farms are located off the coast. In fact, they are sometimes located many miles away from the coast and so do not even spoil the view of the sea.

Although Denmark currently has the world’s largest wind farm, in the long term it seems that much larger countries – such as the US, Canada, Germany and the UK – will embrace offshore wind as an important component in their mix of energy sources.

Signs of cleantech IPOs gathering pace

July proved to be a positive month for the cleantech sector as several renewable energy businesses reported upbeat half-year results.

Shares in France’s EDF Energie Nouvelle gained 19.9% during the month to reach €32.78 each after it reported that H1 revenues increased by 28.1% to €545 million. EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) improved by 15.2% to €168.9 million. The firm’s management also reconfirmed its 2010 EBITDA target of €430-450 million.

Stockmarkets in general suffered during June, with the FTSE100 and Dow Jones Industrial Average hitting levels they had not seen since last autumn.

Fears about everything from the US housing market to the slowing of China’s economy to a general, worldwide double-dip recession have prompted these sell-offs, so it is not surprising that the cleantech sector (still regarded as high-risk by many investors) also suffered falls in June.

The cleantech sector received a welcome boost in the form of the heavily oversubscribed New York IPO, on NASDAQ, of electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla Motors (see below). However, the planned $1.2 billion listing in Hong Kong of China’s Xinjiang Goldwind was cancelled during June, reportedly meeting with insufficient interest from retail investors.