Alternative Outlook

• Join The Guardian for an interactive online discussion to explore the renewable energy agenda beyond changes to feed-in tariffs
• Thursday 4 August from 2-4pm (BST)

For organisations looking to reduce their impact, decisions around energy are far from clear cut. Despite calls for a stable regulatory environment, government policy often sends mixed messages. In particular, changes to feed-in tariffs, which take effect from 1 August, have resulted in a lack of clarity.

The changes mean that larger installations will no longer qualif…

Investors are being given the opportunity to back a boom in British wind power.

It is a long-term punt that demand for alternative energy will deliver on the hype and, in the short-term, that the wind keeps blowing.
The management at investment company Triodos Renewables admit its returns weren’t so hot last year simply because it was one of the worst years on record for wind. If it’s turbines turn more slowly, the company, quite simply, makes less money for its backers.

But there is enormous expectation that wind power will…

UK private investor syndicator Hotbed has completed its second investment in Scottish renewable energy company Burcote Wind, reaching its target of £5.7m.

The Dunfermline-based company specialises in onshore wind energy opportunites in Scotland, identifying sites and developing them to planning permission stage. It currently has options or exclusivity agreements in eight sites with a combined potential generating capacity of over 400MW, capable of powering around 300,000 homes.

‘Government energy targets make the investment case fo…

After writing about Forestry as a good alternative a couple of months ago, I wanted to focus in on one particular branch (pardon the pun) of forestry investment – Bamboo.

Why is Bamboo Different?

Forestry is a great investment that beats inflation, has a green halo and is supported by the worlds growing demand for timber. The problem is that by its very nature, forestry is just about the most illiquid investment you can make. Investors may see interim returns when plantations are thinned, but the real profit is once the fully mature tre…

NORTH-East businesses are poised to benefit from the biggest overhaul of the energy market since privatisation, which was unveiled by the Government last night.

Energy Minister Chris Huhne’s plan to place renewables at the forefront of the UK energy mix will see millions invested in offshore wind farms and measures implemented to support low carbon generation.

Mr Huhne warned that with ageing power stations set to close, and the country heavily reliant on imported energy, urgent reforms were needed to avoid the prospect of power c…

Research shows green investment in Europe dropped by one-fifth in 2010 while developing countries surge ahead.

Europe is in danger of falling behind in the green investment race, new research shows, after a bumper year for renewable energy around the world.

Last year, green investment surged by one-third to a record $211bn (£132bn), with a huge boost coming from investment in China, particularly in windfarms. Almost $50bn of the total came from China, an increase of more than one-quarter on 2009, confirming the country as the world…

Pandas depend on it for nutrition, but bamboo also offers investors potentially mouth-watering returns.

As the fastest-growing land plant in the world – it can reach 41ft within a year – bamboo, which is a type of grass, creates up to 20 times more timber per hectare than trees.

With mounting environmental concerns about the lack of sustainable forests, demand for bamboo is soaring. Producers claim they can double investors’ money in as little as five years, or grow it fourfold within 15.

Is it a genuine opportunity, or simply ge…

British firms have acquired more land in Africa for controversial biofuel plantations than companies from any other country, a Guardian investigation has revealed.

Half of the 3.2m hectares (ha) of biofuel land identified – in countries from Mozambique to Senegal – is linked to 11 British companies, more than any other country.

Liquid fuels made from plants – such as bioethanol – are hailed by some as environmentally-friendly replacements for fossil fuels. Because they compete for land with crop plants, biofuels have also been …

The UK’s new Green Investment Bank will have the freedom to raise up to £15bn on the capital markets in the years ahead, the government confirmed today, offering pension funds and other financial investors the chance to participate in sustainable infrastructure projects from 2015.

Nick Clegg, Deputy Prime Minister, said yesterday the bank would be set up under legislation to guarantee its “independence and enduring nature” as an institution, giving investors confidence. The government has committed £3bn in funding, and hopes to rai…

A divisive debate over the green credentials of biofuels has stalled investment and threatens the future of some producers, but could also create lucrative opportunities, according to European companies.

Background
‘Indirect land-use change’ means that if you take a field of grain and switch the crop to biofuel, somebody somewhere will go hungry unless those missing tonnes of grain are grown elsewhere.

Economics often dictates that the crops to make up the shortfall come from tropical zones, and so encourage farmers to carve out new…