Pangea Blog: The Reports of Cleantech's Death Are Greatly Exaggerated

The numbers are in, and they ain’t pretty. They tell us that 2012 represented the worst year for cleantech investment since the dark days of 2009.  Depending on whose numbers you accept, investments in cleantech declined 28%, from $4.6 billion in 2011 to $3.3 billion in 2012 (PWC Moneytree, or MT for short), or 29% in the case of the Cleantech Group’s (CG) numbers.  Meanwhile, the venture industry as a whole contracted by only 10%.

Reading news like this could get one thinking back fondly to the halcyon days of 2007, when it seemed cleantech was growing so fast as to be unstoppable.  2008 was even better; well, until Q4, when it all turned pear-shaped. So let’s not go there.  2007 was awesome!

What went wrong? From $3.1 billion invested in cleantech in 2007 (MT; CG says $6.1 billion), we’ve declined to $3.3 billion/$6.5 billion.

Wait a second. That’s not a decrease – it’s an increase!

Read the full blog at the source:  Keith Gillard, Pangea Blog, February 4, 2013.