The Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR) announced that its members have allocated more than $1 billion of their assets to clean technology ventures over the past 18 months.
Pennsylvania State Treasurer Robert Casey Jr. pledged $90 million of state funds to a new Keystone Green Fund and other clean technology investments – that brings INCR’s total clean technology investments to more than $1 billion since spring 2005. California’s two largest pension funds have led the way, along with state treasurers and comptrollers from New York and Oregon. All are members of INCR, a three-year-old alliance of 50-plus leading investors whose collective assets total more than $3 trillion.
The Cleantech Venture Network forecasts that cleantech venture capital investment opportunities for major institutional investors globally through 2009 are estimated at $17 billion, with $10 billion in North America, $5 billion in Europe and $2 billion for the rest of the world.
“Cleantech now resides with the heavyweights in the world of innovation and investing,” said Nicholas Parker, co-founder and chairman of the Cleantech Venture Network. “The $843 million in cleantech deals tracked by the Cleantech Venture Network in second-quarter ’06 totaled 12.4 percent of overall venture investment, placing cleantech behind only biotechnology and software as venture capital investment categories. It is the first time cleantech has surpassed telecommunications and medical devices and equipment.”
INCR members announced the $1 billion goal in May 2005, when 500 company, investor and Wall Street leaders gathered at the Institutional Investor Summit on Climate Risk at the United Nations in New York. The largest investments have been made by the nation’s two largest public pension funds, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and the California State Teachers Retirement (CalSTRS). Details are as follows:
CalPERS, $700 Million: The CalPERS board has $500 million invested in environmentally screened stock portfolios in the U.S. and overseas. An additional $200 million has been targeted for private equity stakes in environmental technology ventures in such fields as energy-efficient materials, photovoltaics and other renewable energy technologies. Many of the ventures are based in California.
CalSTRS has made $188 million of clean sector investments, including about $150 million in renewable energy projects in Europe and the U.S.
The New York State Common Retirement Fund has made a $30 million commitment to the Carlyle/Riverstone Renewable Energy Infrastructure Fund I. The fund has raised $600 million to invest in renewable energy projects, including hydroelectric plants, wind systems, geothermal and biomass facilities. The CRF has already invested in a wood burning power plant, ethanol plants, geothermal and solar power plants throughout North America.
Oregon State Treasurer’s Office, $50 Million: The Oregon Investment Fund this year approved investments in First Reserve XI, which has extensive alternative energy technology holdings, as well as Nth Power, a clean energy capital venture fund that is backing more than a dozen alternative energy companies.
About INCR
The Investor Network on Climate Risk was launched by Ceres and a group of 10 institutional investors at the Institutional Investor Summit on Climate Risk at the United Nations in November 2003. INCR now includes more than 50 institutional investors who collectively manage more than $3 trillion of assets. The group is dedicated to promoting a better understanding of the financial risks and investment opportunities from climate change. http://www.incr.com
About Clean Energy Investment Working Group
The Clean Energy Investment Working Group (CEIWG) supports INCR members who are actively exploring new cleantech investment commitments. Ceres and the Clean Energy Group coordinate the activities of the CEIWG. www.cleaninvestment.org
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