4 Ways to Invest in the Low-Carbon Economy

Citigroup Inc. recently pledged $100 billion for lending, investing, and facilitating deals related to sustainability, renewable energy,  and climate change mitigation. This is yet another sign that global capital markets are enormously interested in delivering capital into clean, renewable sources of energy. But you don’t have to be Citigroup to invest in the clean energy future.

The industry’s rapid growth presents an interesting diversity of  long-term opportunities for individuals like you and me who might be looking to make investments in a low carbon economy.

Fueled by an increased demand for solar and wind energy, clean energy investment last year beat expectations, rising 16 percent to $310 billion worldwide, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). Fortunately, this robust growth is representative of a general upward trend in clean energy investment over the past decade.

Although the vast majority of this money is coming from governments, corporations, and private equity and venture capital firms, people of all income levels can consider whether it is right for them to add clean energy to their investment portfolios. And, you don’t need millions in the bank to make these types of investments – any investor can consider whether to put their money to use  through the four financial instruments described below.

4 ways

Climate/Green Bonds

A bond allows entities looking to finance projects to borrow money from investors for a defined period of time at a fixed interest rate. Climate/green bonds are used exclusively to finance new or existing climate/green initiatives, which are defined by the International Capital Markets Association as “projects and activities that promote climate or other environmental sustainability.”

Climate/green bonds have experienced significant success recently and constitute a large chunk of financing for clean energy investment. According to BNEF, “These have been one of the great success stories of the past two years, increasing from a paltry $3 to 5 billion per year between 2007 and 2012, then suddenly jumping to $14 billion in 2013 and $39 billion last year.”

And future prospects are bright. BNEF expects to see further rapid growth in 2015, saying, “We see the volume of green bonds doubling again this year to around $80 billion.”

Equities

Equity is stock or any other security representing ownership in a company. An investor who believes a company’s value will increase in the future might purchase equity, or shares of ownership, in that company via a stock exchange. This is a riskier option than a bond because if the company’s value decreases, the investor loses money.

There are plenty of publicly-traded companies operating in the clean energy space, such as solar panel manufacturers or battery storage developers. While there are a number of market risks (embedded in any investment) that need to be carefully evaluating when making an equity investment, selecting  the right technology or venture to back can be very rewarding. For example, Tesla is a publicly traded clean energy company whose stock price grew more than 40 percent to $222.41 on December 31, 2014. If an investor had purchased 100 shares on January 1st last year for about $15,000 and sold them on December 31st, she would have earned a hefty return of more than $7,000. For those who have no idea where to start, SustainableBusiness.com has compiled a “watch list” for green stocks and even has subcategories like solar and wind.

Index Funds

In the case of financial markets, an index is an imaginary portfolio of securities representing a particular market or a portion of it. Indices are often the basis of mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). These index funds enable investors who want to get behind an industry, but lack confidence in their abilities to identify specific winning companies, to bet on the industry at large.

Clean energy index funds might include a broad spectrum of technologies and/or geographies, or they might focus on one technology and/or geography. Below are some examples of clean energy index funds:

  • PowerShares Global Clean Energy Portfolio: This ETF is based on the Wilder Hill New Energy Global Innovation Index (^NEX), which comprises 107 companies around the world for a broad spectrum of clean technologies. This index fund “seeks to deliver capital appreciation and is composed of companies that focus on greener and generally renewable sources of energy and technologies facilitating cleaner energy.” The fund, as well as the group of companies included in the index, are rebalanced and reconstituted on a quarterly basis.
  • Guggenheim Solar ETF: This ETF, based on the MAC Global Solar Energy Index, includes companies distributed across the solar energy value chain, including the manufacturing of solar equipment and the financing, development, and operation of projects.

    Yieldcos

BNEF defines a yieldco as a “publicly traded company whose main purpose is to buy and hold operational assets and pass the majority of its cash flows to investors in the form of dividends.”  In other words, individuals can buy shares in yieldcos, which are investments in specific assets that are already constructed (e.g. a solar power plant owned by another company). An attractive feature of yieldcos is they do not typically take on development or construction risk, which is born either by the parent company or a third-party developer. Those who invest in yieldcos are paid back via dividends that derive from the profits of the asset.

A number of companies have recently created yieldcos for clean energy assets, including NRG Energy, Pattern Energy Group, NextEra Energy, Abengoa SA, and TransAlta Renewables. Global solar energy company SunEdison’s new yieldco, TerraForm Power, raised $350 million in an initial public offering (IPO) in July and is planning to release an IPO for a second yieldco focusing on clean energy assets in Africa and Asia this year. And recently, the two largest U.S. solar-panel manufacturers, First Solar and SunPower, created waves when they announced plans to create a joint-venture yieldco.

An added bonus to clean energy yieldcos: those that own renewable resources can use the tax benefits associated with clean energy investment to lower their taxes.

A lot of money has been made (and a fair amount has been lost) through the clean energy industry over the past decade, and the surplus doesn’t need to be limited to major conglomerates like Citigroup. Making any investment can be a very risky proposition. Anyone considering an investment in any of the alternatives described here should first speak with a registered financial/investment advisor to make certain all risks are fully understood and that an investment is appropriate to the investor. Green bonds, equities, index funds, and yieldcos are just a few instruments that empower people to capitalize on this trend, while helping to fund the clean energy future.

Peter Sopher

Originally published
in the blogs.edf.org
April 13, 2015

  • author's avatar

    By: Peter Sopher (EDF.org)

    Policy Analyst, Clean Energy
    Areas of expertise: Electricity grid modernization; Carbon markets
    Peter conducts research as part of the Clean Energy Program’s “Idea Bank,” or its internal consultancy. His research centers on many of the moving parts that comprise the electricity sector modernization, including: demand response, time of use pricing, renewable energy, energy storage, energy efficiency, electric vehicles, and clean tech investing. And through his focus on Germany’s energy transition and Austin, Texas’ Pecan Street smart grid project, he has experience researching and analyzing how these moving parts work together.

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