The Alternative Energy blog – green renewable alternative energy

A senior American energy official says the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico dramatically illustrates the need for investing in renewable sources of energy.

David Sandalow, a US assistant energy secretary, said yesterday that the oil spill is a “tragic situation” that “underscores the need for a transition to a clean energy economy.”

Sandalow was speaking during a meeting of international officials in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. The oil-rich sheikdom is investing heavily in renewable energy projects.

This week’s meeting is meant to lay the groundwork for a clean energy summit to be held in Washington next month.

Venture capitalists in the USA are heading back into the alternative energy sector. Investments in the sector have increaesed by 73 percent in the last 3 months.

A report issued today by Ernst & Young LLP says venture capital investment in the clean-technology sector totaled about $572 million from April to June.
That’s still far less than the money invested during the second quarter of 2008, a big year for alternative energy, but suggests that the worst may be over for solar, wind geothermal and other cleantech businesses.