Venture capital investment shrank in 2008 for
the first time in five
years, going from $30.8 billion in 2007 to $28.3 billion in 2008,
according to
the National Venture Capital Association.
Through the first three quarters of 2008, VC investments were about even with 2007, but in the fourth quarter the bottom fell out. In Q4'08, $5.4 billion was invested, a 33% drop from Q4'07, and 22% fewer deals were made.
Of the companies that did get funding, alternative energy led the way -- in particular, solar. Nanosolar, a San Jose solar company, took the top spot for 2008 with $299 million in financing.
Of the ten biggest investments made last year, seven were energy companies and the top four were solar companies. Overall, clean tech investment jumped 50% for 2008.
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"We have opportunities for outstanding candidates who can meet our exceptionally strict hiring criteria. You must have either a demonstrated track record of world-class ability in your field, outstanding academics, or other evidence of exceptional ability including winning national or international competitions or having personally built successful hardware."
Seems like that place is elite.
Those same investments probably would not have been made today.
Last year, you were on a waiting list if you wanted to buy a Prius. Now, the local Toyota dealer is practically begging people to buy them.
Both. But in the case of the Prius, the price of gas has had the bigger impact. Car sales were way down back when oil was $147/barrel, too. The recession started well over a year ago.
When Priuses were selling like hotcakes (when oil prices were high), sales of most other cars were down significantly. So, you can't blame all of the Prius's sales woes on the overall market.
Use your common sense - do you really think that the significant investments in 2008 in alternative energy weren't due to the skyrocketing price of oil? Of course they were.
And now that oil has come down from the stratosphere, that won't be a hot investment again until the price of oil goes up significantly - which it most likely won't until the world gets out of this long economic funk.
Renewable Energy is the only solution, long term most definitely, short term only if we want to live healthy to see the long term. How to get there is the challenge we face together and a working solution beneficial to all mankind is the goal.
This is my personal motto, and I invite you to memorize and adopt it as your own:
"I want cleaner air to breathe, cleaner water to drink, contaminant free healthy foods to eat, and enough energy to provide me and my family with all this and a great home to live in, jobs that help each person reach our greatest potential, a community that allows freedom of personal expression for the common good, helps me take responsibility for my mistakes, and connects me with other likeminded people from around the world."
This is renewable energy at its best!