Solar CEOs voice cautious optimism about investor interest

Solar titans at yesterday's Greentech Media Conference in Scottsdale voiced cautious optimism about investor interest in solar companies. Lyndon Rive, the founder and CEO of Solar City, which leases solar systems to homeowners and businesses and has a significant presence in Arizona, noted there is still a lot of interest among venture capital investors in solar companies, especially those that have a strong management team. Rive said those companies will receive money from the markets, though perhaps not as much and not as quickly as last year. Peter Green, the CEO of New Mexico-based Advent Solar said he's seen a "freeing up" of private equity financing for solar companies the past four to six weeks, and that investors are largely looking for renewable energy companies that demonstrate breakthroughs in technology, over companies that are purely providing new capacity. (Green cited the fact that some capacity is now shutting down in China). Rive sounded warnings about the need to continue to break down barriers to adoption of solar, which focus around the up-front costs associated with putting solar on rooftops, and the aesthetics of the panels. Green, who announced a new partnership with Arizona State University yesterday, as well, http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles/2009/04/16/20090416biz-advent0416.html, called on states like Arizona to seize the opportunity it has to fashion itself as a "center of expertise in solar." According to Green, the states that demonstrate an ability to drive down costs will attract capital and businesses, but the chance to do so is fleeting. "It's about lowering cost and it needs to be developed here (in Arizona) and it is perishable."