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• Complexity and operating costs of newenvironmental derivatives after prior WallStreet experiences with various riskmanagement products, and linkages ofinternational carbon markets.• Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) creditsfrom projects in renewables, methane gasreductions, cement and coal bed methanereductions, supply energy efficiency, demandside energy efficiency, fuel switching,forestation projects, and other reductions.• Supply constraints, because Kyoto signatoriesare behind in their greenhouse gas reductioncommitments, and there is a shortage ofgood projects with carbon credits content.• Project financing gap growing, with up frontfinance required, only “pay on deliverycontracts,” project risks not shared butallocated to developer and not truly globalproject markets yet.Capital AccessThere are some real benefits for a private cleantechnology company to go public at an early stage.According to Robert Peterman of the TorontoStock Exchange, these benefits include thefollowing advantages: use share capital toacquire other companies and augment organicbusiness growth with strategic M&A activities,utilization of option plan to retain key employeesand conserve cash for growth, on-going ability tofinance growth by accessing capital markets asbusiness objectives are achieved, and liquiditypremium from investors, particularly givencurrent market conditions.By watching some strategic investors, a trendtowards renewable energy and energy efficiencyemerges.In the utility and oil industries, Duke Energy acquiredCatamount Energy, a wind power company, for $240million. Shell has invested $1 billion over the past fiveyears in renewable energy technologies. Chevron hascommitted to invest $100 million per year in renewableenergy. PG&E will invest $1.4 billion in developing solarpower facilities.In the industrial sector, General Electric Energy FinancialServices has a $4 billion portfolio of renewable energyassets, including Ionics, Comverge, SunPower, A123Systems, and number of Wind projects. GE will also invest$6 billion in renewables by 2010. There is a joint venturebetween DuPont and Genencor, where they have committedto $140 million over 3 years to develop cellulosicethanol solutions.The automotive industry has seen General Motors investin a biofuels start-up, Coskata, to speed the flow ofethanol for GM’s flex-fuel vehicles. In addition, all majorcar manufacturers in the US and abroad have invested indeveloping electric cars and related battery technologies.Finally, Google is planning to invest in solutions to generate1 GW of renewable energy from a coal-fired plant. Theyhave also committed up to “hundreds of millions” ofdollars to bring new technologies to market. Currently,Google is working with eSolar on its solar thermal powerinitiative as well as advancing geothermal power technologyand systems. They too have invested in a wind powercompany, Makini Power.ConclusionsThe state of renewable energy economicsevoked feelings of optimism and promise amidstthe uncertainty of a national and globaleconomic crisis. The American Reinvestmentand Recovery Act extended existing renewableenergy tax incentives, and created new ones tocatalyze the market in a time of credit shortage.Attendees’ confidence was also bolstered by themany state-level success stories shared, each,microcosms of the economic growth a nationalrenewable energy standard would created.Infrastructure barriers still inhibit renewableenergy scale-up, and economic uncertaintieslinger on in the volatile market. But all inattendance were inspired by the expandednational commitment to renewable energydiscussed at RETECH 2009.American Council On Renewable EnergyExecutive Summary Report 49