Financial slump to hit late-stage cleantech firms

From businessGreen:

Fallout from the Lehman Brothers collapse will result in tighter credit conditions and falling share prices for cleantech firms, but experts are confident that the longer-term outlook still looks solid

The collapse of Lehman Brothers and the subsequent market fallout could thin the flow of cleantech IPOs for up to two years, say analysts, as strained equity investors adopt a more conservative approach.

The cleantech market is a high-risk business, and very capital intensive, said Paul Sidlo, CEO of solar concentrator startup SunRGI, who is worried that constrained credit could cause problems for project owners.

"In the short term, it makes credit harder to get - it has an effect on capital, leasing – all the things you would do to get project funding," he warned, adding that ventures in areas such as photovoltaic solar were still considered to be relatively high risk. "We just came out in June, so we're really young compared with everyone else, and I'm certain that it will have an impact on raising money.">>>MORE