Investors like clean energy, growth dips: survey

LONDON (Reuters) – Half of institutional investors plan to increase their funding of clean energy compared with 12 months ago, but that will not be enough to drive global growth in the sector this year, a survey published on Wednesday said.

Shares in clean energy companies under performed other stocks in 2008 because of their dependence on growth, technology advances and high oil prices. More expensive debt has curbed installation of clean energy projects, for example in wind and solar power.

But investors told a London conference, where the survey was published, they expected measures to fight climate change and secure energy supplies would help lift the low-carbon sector out of recession before others.

… Some 49 percent of a survey of 106 institutional investors including pension, banking and insurance funds with $1 trillion assets under management planned to increase their exposure to the sector now.

Global investment in clean energy fell in the second half of 2008 and is on track to fall in the first three months of 2009 compared with the same period last year, NEF said, after hitting a plateau last year at about $150 billion.

Reuters