Dive Brief:
While investors increasingly seek solar company stocks for reliable returns, energy storage is the new rising star of energy venture capital, according to Raj Prabhu, CEO of the Mercom Capital Group.
After a steady recovery in the third and fourth quarters of 2020, total corporate funding for the solar sector rose 21%, from $6.7 billion in Q4 2020 to $8.1 billion in Q1 2021, according to a recent report by Mercom. A second report found that venture capital investment in battery storage, smart grid and energy efficiency companies is up 410% year-over-year.
Solar, an increasingly mature industry, is now largely seen as a reliably profitable investment, attracting fewer but larger deals, Prabhu said. Storage still brings in far less investment but is drawing in venture capitalists looking for the next big energy technology.