RENEWABLOG

2009 Outlook: Green Regs and Sam (Uncle Sam)

First off, apologies for the holiday blogging break which grew into a European-style summer vacation. We say every year that the holidays will slow things down a bit, but as usual there was lots going on despite the economy and more companies shuttering their doors for the holidays than in the past. That said, being busy is a good thing and working in the markets we serve is pretty fun.

In any event, we are starting to see some serious momentum surrounding a trend we predicted at the start of Q4: The government serving as a funding bridge between the last Green VC boom and the next one.

VentureBeat's Dean Takahashi has a great interview with Peter Nieh of Lightspeed Ventures on the topic, which shows that some VCs are either just growing wise to the upcoming availability of government funding or seeing it as a priority for their portfolio companies. Nieh and John Doerr of Thomas Friedman, who recently testified before a Senate Committee, seem to be ahead of the curve on this topic, as are our friends at Draper Fisher Jurvetson. Some might be surprised that they support the government getting in the funding game, but why not? Better than a competing firm getting equity at a vastly diluted price.

It's not just VentureBeat and the VCs talking about it either. There is a definite buzz in cleantech start-up circles about the value of government relations, the impact of the next stimulus bill and how to approach federal, state and local audiences. When you consider that all VCs contributed $8 billion in funding in 2008 and the government is talking $20 billion just in tax breaks, it is easy to get excited.

There will be some big winners (the ones that get indirect funding through projects) and losers (those that drag their feet or don't take the time to understand it) in GR circles in 2009.