Clean energy depends on wider economy growth

Last July we expanded the focus of the blog to wider economic and market issues. A few long-time readers emailed to ask what was going on, they were seeing great alt-energy prospects purveyed on other sites.
Then all hell broke loose.
The point of the expansion is basic to macro investing, everything is connected.
Those who can spot the connections, and act on them, will do better than those who can't/don't.
From Reuters:

Clean energy has strong guaranteed government backing in long-term subsidies but its future growth hinges on wider economic recovery and European targets are in doubt, senior energy executives told Reuters Energy Summit.

The big picture for renewables is a sector which may emerge from recession as fast or faster than the wider economy, because government support is often in the form of guaranteed long-term price support.

But capital-intensive projects, such as new installations, are dependent on debt finance and for that reason the sector can only recover fully with a growing economy....MORE