The by-products of a surge in economic activity, such as greater air pollution, waste management, use of water and physical commodities all point to a rise in environmental investments.
National Ethical Investment Week
The manager of the Jupiter Green Investment Trust said his comments were rooted in a decade working in the specialist sector.
Speaking at a press lunch hosted by the Association of Investment Companies as the industry approached National Ethical Investment Week, the manager faced the conundrum of pegging one renewable energy source against another.
Experts present compared solar power against wind generation as the leading renewable investment opportunity in today’s climate.
Both options offered high growth and lowly correlated investment returns, but while wind power shifted away from its role as an ‘alternative’, its stable, inflation-linked income stream prospects were now become more prevalent in core portfolios, according to Stephen Lilley, partner at the investment company, Greencoat UK Wind.
Solar power meanwhile was a newer entrant to the space, and Foresight Group said it looked set to benefit from the government’s RPI-linked Renewable Obligation Certificate, which would drive the demand for solar investments.
Regulation…again
Jamie Richards, partner of Foresight, which is planning a solar fund, said solar power offered “a more predictable financial returns [than] wind.”
Jupiter’s Thomas added: “We are seeing a consequent pick up in both interest and potential returns from a range of diversified industries and companies across many parts of the globe. "This coupled with a more settled political climate lead us to the belief that the next 10 years will be as exciting as the last."
InfraRed Capital Partners’ Richard Crawford added the UK and EU-wide carbon reduction targets had placed renewables at the forefront of the future energy generation mix – both wind and solar.
