Antinuclear

Australia Renewable Energy Fund Set to Invest in Solar, Biofuels, Bloomberg News By James Paton  May 29, 2012 Australia’s A$200 million ($196 million) renewable energy venture capital fund is set to unveil its
first two investments in the solar and biofuels industries by the end of September.

Southern Cross Venture Partners, named manager of the fund by the
Australian government in December, plans to invest in three or four
companies by the end of 2012, Mark Bonnar, investment director of the
company, said in an interview yesterday in Sydney. Southern Cross,
with funds from Australia and a Chinese venture capital fund, expects
to put as much as A$20 million into each investment, he said.

The fund is part of Australia’s plan to drive investment in wind,
solar, geothermal and other clean-energy technologies. Australia, the
developed world’s biggest per-capita polluter according to the
government, has set a target of generating 20 percent of its power
from renewable energy sources by the end of the decade. The nation
also will start charging polluters for their carbon emissions in July
to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and fight climate change.

“We’ve got to put this money to work and start to prove to people that
there’s a solid pipeline of companies in this market,” Bonnar said,
declining to identify the first investments because they haven’t been
completed. “This market is capital constrained, not opportunity
constrained.”…..
Softbank Investment
Softbank China Venture Capital provided half of the investment in the
fund managed by Bonnar, matching Australia’s A$100 million
commitment,…..
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-05-29/australia-renewable-energy-fund-set-to-invest-in-solar-biofuels

June 2, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | General News