Investors bullish on clean tech (Boston)

Investors, including venture capitalists and bankers, voiced confidence in the potential for VC investment in 2010, with strong growth seen for investment in cleantech, according to a survey by audit and tax firm KPMG LLP.

The New York-based firm also noted that investors expect to shift more money into energy storage and efficiency companies rather than renewable energy sources. The results of the survey, in which KPMG polled 200 investors, will be released at the GoingGreen East conference in Boston next week.

“Overall, I think the survey results were pretty positive. I think last year was a bad year. We were looking at the results and saying, ‘There’s a lot of money sitting on the bench that’s not being put in play.’ Now, I think a fair amount of the economic uncertainty has been calmed a bit,” said Ed Sullivan, an audit partner with KPMG.

Sullivan noted that the growth in interest in cleantech and in energy storage and efficiency as a subset isn’t surprising. “I think the shift to efficiency is driven by the VCs’ ability to get out of their investment a little quicker,” he said.

Read the full story in Mass High Tech.