Comments on: As web VC investing booms, cleantech slows

By: Ignacio Gonzalez

Ignacio Gonzalez — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 16:38:15 +0000

Agree with Lucian on the long term perspective. And, if we were to actually put a price on carbon through legislation, investment would go up even further. This, to me, is the key to the puzzle.

Katie, you forgot to include Shell in the biofuels investment list by the majors :) , especially Shell’s recent venture in Brazil. Shell is also investing in carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), although some would say this is not “clean tech” since it is still allowing for use of hydrocarbons, but nonetheless is part of many other solutions toward cleaner energy.

By: Lucian Armasu

Lucian Armasu — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 15:46:49 +0000

I believe Facebook’s hyper inflated valuation helped all the other web companies’ valuations to rise. When Facebook’s valuation will start crashing down (my guess is well before IPO), all the other web valuations will start dropping, too.

Cleantech is in it for the long haul. With or without a valuation boom, cleantech investments will continue to rise over the years.

By: Katie Fehrenbacher

Katie Fehrenbacher — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 14:32:23 +0000

@David, I completely agree with you. Cloud computing itself can save billions in energy costs, according to some studies, http://gigaom.com/cleantech/cloud-computing-could-lead-to-billions-in-energy-savings/

By: David

David — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 14:26:10 +0000

This is an exceptionally interesting article Katie. When you look at the technology trends and what is becoming the commonplace (being able to do more using the web) and more and more people working from home, I would put forward the proposition that the web start-ups are, in fact, a green investment. Cloud Computing and all that it allows companies / individuals to do…it’s just the beginning :-)