According to Fortune, nine out of ten start-ups fail. Cold statistics like these are not intended to discourage entrepreneurs, but to encourage them to work smarter and harder. If you ask the experts why start-ups fall short, you might hear about “horses” (that is, the opportunities start-ups are targeting) and “jockeys” (the founders). Both are important, but if forced to choose, most VCs would favour an able founder over an attractive opportunity. Consequently, when asked to explain why a promising new venture eventually stumbled, most are inclined to cite the inadequacies of its founders—in particular, their lack of grit, industry acumen, [...]
Read MoreWe are glad to announce that Organic Heat Exchangers has been granted SEIS & EIS Advanced Assurance from HM Revenue & Customs. The letter can be accessed by clicking the link below: SEIS & EIS Advanced Assurance Organic Heat Exchangers have received an overwhelming response from the investors as well. Currently, we are overfunding on crowdcube. Should you wish to consider Organic Heat Exchangers for inclusion on your own portfolio, you have three options. You can access it through Crowdcube, you can register on O-Hx or email us for the introduction: O-Hx Pitch on Crowdcube Register on O-Hx Email Us
Read More[View the story "COP21 - Day One Coverage" on Storify]
Read MoreWe're not ones to say "We told you so..." at 350, but we're delighted to hear that the COP 21 Climate Change summit has already established that carbon trading from emissions reductions is firmly back at the heart of the global climate change agenda. Regular readers of this blog will know that re-energising the carbon market is the most practical way to address global emissions increases. And more to the point, it's also the fairest way to affect greener, clean development in the developing world. On the opening session in Paris (COP21), Germany, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland announced an [...]
Read MoreThank heavens. The UK renewable boom was started by the pied piper of misguided climate economics (former energy secretary Ed Miliband) and it's now collapsed under its own weight. To misquote Winston Churchill, never in the field of reducing CO2 emissions has so much been wasted by so few. That's not to say the UK renewable sector hasn't had a good run, but from an environmental point of view it has been about as effective as paying people to run round in circles to reduce unemployment. Now there are going to be casualties. Potentially a lot of them, too. [...]
Read MoreThere’s an inherent commercial tension within the way companies approach structuring renewable energy projects. In any new area, there’s naturally an element of trial and error that's characterised renewables for both technology providers, developers and investors (as technologies evolve, as legislative frameworks and policy develops and so on). It comes with the territory in emerging industries. However something that’s often overlooked is the way deal-structuring goes through the same kind of trial and error. In many respects, this area is more critical to the delivery of low-carbon solutions than even the technology itself. To explain the issue simply, [...]
Read MoreHere’s an interesting thought. As the global stock markets are sliding back in the wake of concerns over China’s stock market woes, investors are looking to diversify their holdings and hedge a bit with different kinds of asset. Which is predictable. At times like this, investors look for the chance to buy cheap, weather the volatility and enjoy a bit of upside when it all gets back to normal. And for the more risk inclined, carbon, specifically Certified Emissions Reductions or CERs, might finally be looking like a reasonable punt. Now, admittedly, for some years now CERs have looked like a [...]
Read MoreWe’re delighted to announce we’re making the last few preparations to launch our first Deal Stream 2 project, planned to break ground mid-2016 in Chile’s South Atacama desert. The project is for a sub-50MW solar energy facility that meets all the requirements for delivering a high quality, profitable solar park with excellent long term revenue potential. The key to building high quality renewable energy assets that deliver both effective carbon reductions and offer long term value creation for investors is defining the right kind of project. This first Atacama solar development is an excellent example: Location: [...]
Read MoreI’ve just read a carbon abatement report for a natural gas pipeline that runs across hundreds of miles of continental Eastern Europe. It’s leaking 2.4 millions of tons of methane (CH4) into the atmosphere every year. The equivalent of about 60 million tons of CO2 (going by the standard equivalency measure). And that’s just from one facility in one country. Multiply the issue across the natural gas systems of Europe alone, and the equivalent of billions of tons of CO2 is spewing out into the atmosphere for no reason other than faulty well valves and leaking low-medium pressure pipes. You [...]
Read MoreOn the surface, the latest CMA energy market investigation (Competition and Markets Authority) report appears to be criticising the big six consumer energy suppliers (CMA reports). Consumers have footed a bill between 2009-2013 (the report focus) that’s £1.2bn per year more than they should have paid in a competitive marketplace, the CMA concluded. It has led to rumours of a price cap whilst reforms are made to the energy market. The CMA chairman, Roger Whitcomb was quoted saying “There are millions of customers paying too much for their energy bills - but they don’t have to,” but [...]
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