GeekWire: Element 8 Predicts Resurgence in Cleantech Investing; Pumps $3.3M into Startups in 2015

Angel investors of the Pacific Northwest collective Element 8, which focuses exclusively on early-stage clean tech companies, put nearly $3.3 million into 17 startups this past year.

That’s the smallest investment made by the angel group since 2011, though co-chair Eric Berman says that clean tech investing is rebounding after hitting a recession in the latter half of the 2000s.

“Clean tech has really hit a turning point,” said Berman in an interview with GeekWire. “Years ago, the kinds of people doing the sustainability thing were doing it out of a green ethos, a desire to be sustainable. Today, partly because costs have come down, you can make the argument for clean tech totally on economics. That’s a game changer…to be able to say you should install solar panels not because you care about your carbon footprint — though if you do and act on that, more power to you — but…because it saves you money on your electric bill.”

Read the full article on the GeekWire website.