Wall Street's Love Affair With Clean Energy

"Saving the planet, protecting America, doing God's work, cynically exploiting a feel-good trend -- call it what you will. Wall Street sees money to be made."

BusinessWeek features this article in its latest issue.

Some highlights from the article:

"Last year, $17 billion poured into clean-energy projects in the U.S. -- 89% more than in 2004, estimates researcher New Energy Finance Ltd. Worldwide, the $49 billion collected in 2005 was up 62% from 2004."

"Interest in this stuff is "out of control," says Credit Suisse Group banker Paul T. Ho as he sifts through stacks of papers on his desk for potential initial public offerings of companies that produce fuel from corn, restaurant grease, prairie grasses, orange peels, and municipal waste.

"Think of green investing in 2006 like technology investing circa 1976, when computer hardware was just starting to be introduced. Bet on the next Intel, and the sky's the limit."

" Investment banks are making long-term bets, too. Instead of taking green companies public and collecting the easy underwriting fees, Goldman [Sachs] is choosing to own companies outright and keep the profits for itself."