Accountability and Opportunity As the Credit Crisis Slows Investment

I’ve seen a lot of talk about the silver lining of the credit crises and wanted to share my point of view as to how it affects the energy efficiency industry and M&V.

One article from the triple pundit comments on these articles from Grist and the New York Times. The basic consensus is that with a lack of funds available for clean energy investment, the new industry will suffer.

While this may be true for clean energy, I know that gasoline being back under $2.00 a gallon has changed Detroit’s view of the electric cars. A month ago Chrysler and GM were both unveiling the cars of the future powered 100% by electricity, but now with other problems, and profitable truck sales climbing once again, putting off long term investment for some quick gains now seems to make sense for them.

For energy efficiency which generally has a quick ROI, a down market may spur interest in the cost cutting procedures. This contrast to the clean energy industry will hopefully help us keep our collective eye on the ball that is the environment. It may also put more pressure on the powers that be behind the Kyoto Protocol to loosen up regulation around getting carbon credit for energy efficiency projects.

One thing that is for sure, as with any investment in this market, people are going to want a proven methodology for calculating returns and proving performance. This is where EVO and IPMVP come into play.

If you are an investor you may want to become a subscriber at EVO, our chairman published some interesting news in our subscribers’ news letter about upcoming tools that will soon be available to you.

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Nathan Shetterley (nathan.shetterley@gmail.com)
EVO New Media Director

del.icio.us Tags: clean energy,electric cars,Kyoto Protocol