Cleantech Sectors of Solar, Wind and Smart Grid All Up in Venture Capital (VC) I

nvestments in 2010
Smart Grid Has its Best Year; Solar Slightly Up from 2009.
Austin, TX â January 20, 2011 â Mercom Capital Group, llc, a global clean energy market
intelligence, consulting and communications firm, today released 2010 merger and
acquisition (M&A) and funding activity for the cleantech sectors of solar, smar
t grid and wind.
â Considering 2009 was a recession year, solar was only slightly up in 2010. After a
good second quarter, VC investments trended down in Q3 and Q4,â commented Raj Prabh
u, Managing Partner at Mercom Capital Group. 2010 VC activity came in at $1.67
billion in 65 transactions, up 18 percent over 2009 ($1.4 billion). There was
increased activity in large-scale solar project funding as well as debt and othe
r funding types, pointing to an ease in the availability of credit after a chall
enging 2009. A total of 148 different investors participated in VC funding roun
ds in 2010. Credit facilities provided to Chinese companies by Chinese banks ca
me in at an eye popping $34 billion, dwarfing all other transactions in solar in
2010.
Solar M&A transactions in 2010 totaled $2 billion in 44 deals. Solar project M&
A activity amounted to another $450 million in 18 deals out of which only four w
ere disclosed.
Large-scale project funding came in at $4.1 billion in 2010, while debt and othe
r funding types logged in $36 billion of which $34 billion were in the form of c
redit facilities provided by Chinese Government Banks to Chinese companies, whic
h included LDK Solar, Yingli Solar, JA Solar, Suntech and Trina Solar.
â It was a banner year for Smart Grid in terms of VC funding and M&A activity, with V
C funding almost doubling compared to 2009. 87 different investors participated
in VC rounds in 2010,â further commented Raj Prabhu. VC funding in the Smart Grid
sector was at its highest compared to the previous two years with $769 million i
n 51 deals, an 88 percent increase over 2009 ($410 million). M&A activity was
also robust for the Smart Grid sector in 2010 with 40 transactions. Only four w
ere disclosed for a total of $1.3 billion, of which $1 billion was the acquisiti
on of Ventyx by ABB.
The Wind sector also saw a 40 percent increase in VC and PE activity in 2010 wit
h $277 million invested compared to $198 million in 2009. Large offshore wind p
rojects boosted project funding activity to over $9 billion in 2010. M&A transa
ctions in the Wind sector came to $1.3 billion in 23 deals, with the $860 millio
n acquisition of John Deere Renewables by Exelon making up the bulk of it.
According to the Department of Energy, $2.5 billion was spent in the fourth quar
ter of 2010 compared to $3.04 billion in Q3. DOE has spent a total of $10.39 bil
lion to date out of the $32 billion funding commitments from the Recovery Act.
Download a copy of the funding reports for all sectors at: http://www.mercomcap
ital.com/cleanenergyreports.php
Download all funding transactions for Q4 at: http: http://www.mercomcapital.com
/cleanenergyreports.php
Download hi-resolution charts and graphs at:
Solar 2010: http://www.mercomcapital.com/solar2010images.php
Smart Grid 2010: http://www.mercomcapital.com/smartgrid2010images.php
Wind 2010: http://www.mercomcapital.com/wind2010images.php
About Mercom Capital Group
Mercom Capital Group, llc is a global clean energy market intelligence, consulti
ng and communications firm with offices in the US and India. Mercomâ s communication
s division helps clean energy companies build powerful relationships with media,
analysts, government decision-makers, local communities and strategic partners.
Mercomâ s consulting division advises clean energy companies on new market entry, c
ustom market intelligence and overall strategic decision-making. Mercom delive
rs highly respected industry market intelligence reports covering Solar Energy,
Wind Energy and Smart Grid. Our reports provide timely industry happenings and
ahead-of-the-curve analysis specifically for C-level decision making. For more
information about Mercom Capital Group, visit: http://www.mercomcapital.com. To
get a copy of Mercomâ s popular market intelligence reports, visit: http://mercomcapi
tal.com/market_intelligence.php.
Public Relations Contact:
Mercom Communications India
Tel: +91 80 2234 2856
Email: info@mercomindia.com
Contact:
Mercom Capital Group
Austin, TX
1.512.215.4452
info@mercomcapital.com
http://www.mercomcapital.com