Wind sector venture capital funding in Q3 dropped to $135 million compared to $210 million in Q2 2013. Deal count stayed consistent at 4 deals in both Q2 and Q3, according to Mercom Capital’s latest industry funding report.
There were 14 corporate M&A transactions this quarter totaling $280 million compared to $328 million in six transactions last quarter, according to the report.
Top Q3 wind investment deals included:
- $133 million investment in Mainstream Renewable Power, an independent renewable energy project developer, by Marubeni Corporation.
- $621 million investment in project developer Renova Energia by Brazilian utility Cemig.
- $52 million in equity financing raised by Swedish wind developer Rabbalshede Kraft, including a $26 million strategic investment by Manor Investment S.A.
- Pentalum Technologies of Israel received a Series C funding that included GE Ventures (a top Q3 corporate venture deal noted by Cleantech Group)
Total wind sector funding (venture, other equity, debt, and project funding) came in at $5.6 billion in Q3, according to Mercom.
Mercom recorded three IPOs totaling $1 billion raised, including: Pattern Energy (PEGI) in the U.S., TransAlta Renewables (TAC) in Canda and CPFL Renovaveis (CPRE3) in Brazil.
The report states that YTD large-scale wind project financing through Q3 ($3.7 billion) has already surpassed all of 2012 ($3.2 billion) and Mercom has tracked more than 5 GW of new project announcements globally this quarter in various stages of development.
Adding to the industry’s sailing project development, last week, the International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasted that wind may generate 18 percent of the world’s electricity by 2050 (currently it generates 2.6 percent), which is 12 percent higher than their earlier 2009 estimate. This increase will be driven by rapidly improving technology and lower costs, with turbines becoming lighter and faster and picking up lower-speed winds and producing more regular output. And strong demand from non-OECD countries will propel them to more than 50 percent of global installed wind capacity by 2030.
Since 2008, wind power deployment has more than doubled, approaching 300 GW cumulative installed capacities led by China (75 GW), the United States (60 GW) and Germany (31 GW). The IEA expects China to replace Europe as the top wind power producer by 2025, with the U.S. coming in third.
The IEA report cites grid integration, funding and public acceptance of wind as the industry’s key challenges.
To view the Mercom Capital Q3 wind venture funding report, click here