Stimulating

The term "green jobs" polls very well, consequently it's a bit overused and treated with some degree of skepticism. So I think it's worth highlighting the recent positive impact of stimulus funds, and the renewal of certain tax credits amended to the first bailout, on the cleantech space.

VC investment in cleantech companies was up about 50% from Q1 to Q2 this year.

One of the drivers for steady second quarter venture investment was the promise of stimulus monies offering startup investors a non-dilutive funding source. Meanwhile, early-stage and late-stage investments dominated, while mid-stage funding was harder to come by, and the average round sizes were slightly smaller.

Relatedly, the REW podcast last week featured a panel discussion with cleantech venture capitalists, and one of the points they emphasized was the importance of government support for mid-stage companies, particularly in such a capital intensive sector. Loan guarantees and the Clean Energy Development Authority, included in Waxman-Markey, are the kinds of things that carry small companies employing maybe dozens of people across this "valley of death" to the point where they will be employing thousands of people.

All this politics stuff actually impacts the real world.