Green Investing Rose in Third Quarter

Investment in green businesses and technologies is on the rise again, even as the broader market grows more cautious, according to a new report from Ernst & Young.

The Los Angeles Times reports that green sector investment amounted to only $684 million in the third quarter of 2010. This year saw a major increase, however, rising 73 percent to more than $1.1 billion.

“Confidence in cleantech investing continues despite the challenging investment market,” Jay Spencer, Ernst & Young Americas cleantech director, said in a statement. “We saw significant commitments in energy storage, which reflects a growing corporate focus on proactively managing their energy mix.”

As the biggest success of the quarter, energy storage saw a nearly 2,000 percent increase in funding to more than $420 million, as a growing number of companies attempt to tackle the issue of intermittency in renewable power sources. Energy storage could also serve to spur the growth of the electric vehicle sector.

The Financial Times reports that a recent survey found that a growing number of investors are interested in green or so-called “ethical” investments, with 38 percent expressing interest and the vast majority saying they are willing to switch portfolios if offered such an option.

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