As the concern over climate change and the use of fossil fuels continues to rise, many investment banks are looking into ways to promote investment in clean power. Big names like Goldman Sachs, Piper Jaffray, and Equita SIM have all made clean power an increasingly common focus for their investments.
Equita SIM, an Italian investment banking service whose board includes J.C. Flowers’s Thierry Porté, recently acted as Global Coordinator and Sole Bookrunner for the €130 million bond issue of Alerion Clean Power SpA. Alerion is one of the leading Italian independent renewable energy companies with a specialization in wind power and a portfolio including 11 wind farms in Italy and one in Bulgaria. Equita developed and arranged the deal, showing that investment opportunities in clean energy are becoming more and more appealing in the financial sector.
And Equita SIM isn’t the only one promoting its investments in clean power. Goldman Sachs’s Clean Technology and Renewables group, established in 2010, focuses on clients interested in the clean technology market, including biofuels, energy efficiency, solar, wind, smart grids, and electric vehicles. In fact, Goldman Sachs calls the renewable energy sector one of the most compelling and attractive markets today, backing up its words with a plan to invest $40 billion in the area. (Other investment banks have also increased investments in this area, but none to that level.) Stuart Bernstein, the head of the Goldman Sachs clean technology and renewables investment bank group, argues that investments in clean tech are vitally important because they are an important part of long term global GDP growth. So if the environmental reasons aren’t compelling enough, there are definite financial reasons for these investments, too.
Piper Jaffray is joining the move toward investments in renewable energy as well. They are one of the oldest companies on Wall Street to provide investors with clean technology options. According to their websites, their team “recognizes the opportunity [clean technology] trends represent and remains a global leader in accessing capital for clean technology and renewable businesses.”