An $11 Trillion Opportunity – Why we need to act now to build a green bank in Georgia  – Part II

This is Part II of a multi-part series on why we should get serious about launching a green bank in Georgia. If you missed Part I, you can find it here.

Part II – Green Banks

Green banks are specialized not-for-profit organizations dedicated to funding the growth of businesses leading the low-carbon transition. The name “green bank” is misleading as they operate much more like community development financial institutions (CDFI). Created in 1994 by … read more

Off-grid Solutions to Energy Poverty

Energy poverty is a major global problem, hindering the development of bottom-billion countries. Solar has been identified as a sustainable solution to provide reliable electricity to the globe. In order for the solar industry to scale and offer affordable solutions to the billions in need of power, infrastructure changes and major investments must be made. Below are recent articles, reports, and interviews discussing the potential for solar and the changes that must be made to … read more

Momentum in the Solar Energy Sector

Solar energy is one of the biggest potential sources for decentralized energy. Check out news from the last few weeks on the latest news in the solar industry.

Nebo Suggests Adoption Of Solar Energy By Africa on Leadership Newspaper

Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, recently suggested that African countries should embrace solar energy as a major form of power generation for the continent. He cited the expansive solar resources that Africa holds and … read more

Alternative Energy

We are always keeping an eye on the latest innovations in the alternative and clean energy sectors for the BSP Fund. Here are some of the stories that caught our interest this week.

Tackling Africa’s power poverty with renewable energy by Kristine Pearson on The World Economic Forum

The topic of sustainable methods of alternative energy is becoming increasingly common in development talks. The recent World Economic Forum on Africa, held in Cape Town, … read more

Weekly Review December 1-7

We’re always looking for entrepreneurs who are willing to tackle the challenge of making alternative energy affordable. This week, we’re sharing news on others also looking for ways to make the cost of energy affordable around the world.

Powering Up: Innovating to Solve the Cost of Energy in Africa” by Will Mutua on Afrinnovator
Despite the discovery and availability of oil and gas across Africa, nations are still struggling to meet their populations’ … read more

Weekly Review November 17-23: Alternative Energy Innovation

Since we are always on the lookout for our next investment for the BSP Fund, we stay up-to-date on innovations, regulations, and investment (both public and private) in the alternative energy sector. Here’s what piqued our interest this week in alternative energy.

The next generation of air energy storage players” by Katie Fehrenbacher on GigaOM
Given how important energy storage is in both developed and developing markets, we’re always interested in new storage … read more

Renewable Energy in Kenya: Policy Tools and Anticipated Effects

As we introduced in our last post on this topic, Kenya is using several policy tools to stimulate renewable energy development and grow its national energy supply. With rapidly growing demand, the government has clearly identified renewable energy, such as solar, wind, and geothermal, as a reliable and sustainable way to increase energy supply.

Renewable energy production presents the potential for income and employment generation. It also encourages private investment while minimizing environmental harm. … read more

Weekly Review April 21-27

Every week, we read dozens of articles on our favorite industry trends and relate to our investment thesis. We pick the most popular trend from the week and share the top articles along with our thoughts.

This week’s topic is solar power in emerging markets. Headlines included updates on India’s National Solar Mission and the practical use of solar power on-the-ground in Africa.… read more

Weekly Review January 1-7

Since we wrapped up the year with a Weekly Review on Africa’s prospects for prosperity in 2012, this week we’re taking a look at India. In renewable energy news, the common trend is the focus on India – this week was no exception. We think (and it seems the media agrees) that the clean tech industry will present significant opportunities for investment and development in India.
Photograph: Rafiq Maqbool/AP via The Guardian
read more