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Wed May 23, 2012 5:19pm EDT (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc plans to channel investmentstotaling $40 billion over the next decade into renewable energyprojects, an area the investment bank called one of the biggestprofit opportunities since its economists got excited aboutemerging markets in 2001. Goldman executives said this week that demand for alternativeenergy sources will grow with global energy demand, and as bigmanufacturing countries, including China and Brazil, set moreaggressive targets for reducing emissions. The bank plans tofinance deals with clients' money and, to a lesser extent, its ownfunds. Goldman, which plans to announce the new target at its annualmeeting on Thursday, already invests in clean technology. In 2011,it helped finance $4.8 billion in clean technology companiesglobally, and co-invested more than $500 million in that area. Thenew target would average out to $4 billion a year, leading someanalysts to minimize the target as more of a "charm offensive" thana new initiative. In 2005, Goldman pledged to invest and finance $1 billion ofenvironmentally friendly projects. By the end of 2011, the companyhad exceeded its goal, arranging $24 billion worth of financing andinvesting $4 billion into such projects, said Kyung-Ah Park, headof environmental markets at Goldman. The bank's new $40 billion target applies to investments andfinancings for solar, wind, hydro, biofuels, biomass conversion,energy efficiency, energy storage, green transportation, efficientmaterials, LED lighting and transmission. Goldman has also pledged to reduce its own net carbon emissions tozero by 2020. Stuart Bernstein, head of Goldman's clean technology and renewablesinvestment banking group, compared the opportunity to technologyinvestments in the 1990s or investing 10 years ago in fast-growingcountries like Brazil, Russia, India and China, for which Goldmaneconomist Jim O'Neill coined the term "BRIC" in 2001. "This is another emerging opportunity we think will be quitelarge," Bernstein said. Enthusiasm for renewables was high in 2006 and 2007 as oil pricessoared. But enthusiasm waned after the financial crisis cut energydemand and cash-strapped governments reduced subsidies foralternative energy programs. The use of hydraulic fracturing technology to access abundantsupplies of natural gas in the United States and elsewhere has alsoundermined alternative sources of energy. "Obviously we recognize this is not the easiest of times in theclean energy market but nevertheless the underlying thesis as towhy cleaner and more sustainable forms of energy need to scale upstill holds true," Park said. CHARM OFFENSIVE Analysts and experts said Goldman may also be looking to scorepublic relations points for a relatively small investment. The bank has been on a charm offensive in recent months, after aformer employee wrote a scathing opinion piece in the New YorkTimes in March accusing Goldman of ripping off clients regularly.That was the latest in a series of blows the bank's image hassuffered since the financial crisis. "It's forcing a firm that had its roots in being private for a verylong time to have to go out there and defend itself," said MichaelCarrazza, a former Goldman banker who is now CEO of the privateequity firm Solaia Capital Advisors. Promoting these sorts ofinitiatives makes sense, to show that the bank does some good,Carrazza added. (Reporting By Lauren Tara LaCapra). The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as Sesame Seed Processing Manufacturer , China Innercity Bus, and more. For more , please visit Peanut Peeling Machine today!
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