SHAWN McCARTHY

OTTAWA — From Thursday’s Globe and Mail Published on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2009 12:00AM EDT Last updated on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2009 2:36AM EDT

GLOBAL ENERGY REPORTER

Source Globe and Mail

Investors are returning to the clean technology sector but with a sharper eye for risk and more demanding appetite for reward.

But as private investors move back into financing for renewable energy, efficiency and pollution-abatement companies, money is running out at the federal government’s flagship program for financing startup companies whose technologies offer reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

Ottawa’s Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) – a linchpin for startups needing development capital – is scheduled to announce a $50-million round of company financings next month, virtually depleting its $350-million climate change/clean air fund.

The sector was hammered by the global economic meltdown as credit dried up and investors became increasingly risk-averse. Financing is now coming back – but with a somewhat chastened approach to the much-hyped technology sector. “There is a renewed interest on the part of financial institutions who had clean tech and carbon finance on their radar prior to the economic downturn,” said Douglas Clarke, a partner in the climate-change practice at Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP.

Source Globe and Mail