Venture capital investments in clean-tech ramp up green technology jobs demand

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As venture capital investment in clean-tech surpasses the US$1 billion mark this year a surge in green technology jobs for the U.S. economy is also expected. According to a quarterly PwC/NVCA MoneyTree™ Report supported by data from Thomson Reuters, investments in clean-tech deals were up 26 percent over the fourth quarter of 2010.  The amount of deals completed increased by 11 percent a good sign for job seekers looking for green technology jobs.

Clean-tech investments have surpassed $1 billion on four occasions since MoneyTree started publishing clean-tech history reports in 1995.   This quarter saw 69 venture capital deals in clean-tech totaling $1,038,109,700. The closing of many substantial clean-tech transactions drove the increase.  The largest clean-tech recipients of venture capital investment included:

• BrightSource Energy ($201,700,000)
• Fisker Automotive ($111,900,000)
• SoloPower ($78,600,000)
• Coda Automotive ($76,400,000)
• Fulcrum BioEnergy ($75,000,000)
• Harvest Power ($51,7000,000)

Clean-tech firm BrightSource Energy which just received Bureau of Land Management permits to build solar farms in California is currently fulfilling green technology jobs in construction and engineering (www.brightsourceenergy.com). Harvest Power, which drew attention from former Vice President Al Gore’s investment management company, can transform bio waste and is currently fulfilling green technology jobs in accounting, finance, project management, and engineering according to their website www.harvestpower.com.

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