Where the venture capital flows, so flows innovation!

Quick lesson for anyone who isn't sure what Venture Capital is, for those of you who do just skip ahead. From Wikipedia-

"Venture capital is a type of private equity capital typically provided to early-stage, high-potential, growth companies in the interest of generating a return through an eventual realization event such as an IPO or trade sale of the company. Venture capital investments are generally made as cash in exchange for shares in the invested company.

Venture capital typically comes from institutional investors and high net worth individuals and is pooled together by dedicated investment firms."

My point to posting this is that one way to find green investment ideas is to take a look at what types of green companies venture capital dollars have been flowing towards. An article I found written by David R. Baker from the San Francisco Chronicle indicates that nearly 46% of the money invested in green technology in 2008 went to solar power companies.

Flow of Venture Capital for Green Tech Companies

What this means is rather large investors are betting large portions of their wealth on solar power becoming a widely used energy source moving forward. It would behoof any investor to take a look at adding a company from that energy sector to their portfolio.

One other opportunity I would like to mention is the same article goes on to talk about the shift in investment from the biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel to the synthetic biology fuel produced from algae. Take a look at this article posted on greenchipstocks.com written this past summer.

Investing in Algae Biofuel

There are several companies listed towards the bottom of the article which are worth keeping an eye on for a possible future investment.

Does $1/Gallon Gas Cost us More?

Lots of people are speculating about the future price of gas, but like the future price of anything, it is not an exact science. In less than five months, gas has fallen from an average of $4.11/gallon to $1.66/gallon. That is great news for most Americans as a $20 bill can almost fill up your tank again, but is it also a sign of a weak economy? Will low gas prices cause people to stop buying fuel efficient cars? Some have suggested a gas floor imposed by taxes. This money could be used to fund investments in alternative energy. I know that I am breathing easier with under $2 gas, but I am also wary of the future. Your thoughts?

Two of The Greeniuses contributors, including myself, "growed up" in Polk City, FL, a town of little more than a thousand people.


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I have never considered the city management to be conservation minded, but I may have to change my opinion after reading this article. In an effort to encourage water conservation, they are setting up a tiered rate system to reward those who use less water. I know I am always saying this, but people respond to conservation efforts that benefit them financially. I currently pay a flat rate for water up to 8,000 gallons/month, which I never go over, but I think it's unfair if I only use 2,000 gallons. Are a lot of municipalities changing to this system? Do you think it will reduce water usage?

I admittedly know nothing about the harvesting of algae for use as a biofuel, but the prospects sound promising. This Wired article outlines a defense department initiative to study the prospect of turning algae into jet fuel. According to the article, it is much more efficient for use as a fuel than corn, and it's use wouldn't increase the price of a food crop as not too many people are eating algae these days. Again, this is the type of research that is necessary now, but with fuel prices dropping, I hope it will continue to be funded and pursued.