While funding in renewables continued to climb, interest in smart grid technology appeared to drop off dramatically in 2011.
Clean energy consulting firm Mercom Capital Group released its latest annual report on venture funding, mergers and acquisitions in the smart grid sector.
After a successful year in 2010 that saw smart grid companies take in $769 million in 51 deals, investors interest seemed to collapse with nearly the same number of deals resulting in $377 million in funding.
"Venture capital funding in smart grid was anemic at best in 2011," Raj Prabhu, managing partner at Mercom Capital Group, said in a statement. "Interestingly, the number of VC investors increased to 92 from 87 in 2010, pointing to continued investor interest but lower risk appetite."
This trend was best illustrated by the fact that the average value of each venture deal dropped by half.
However, the report also noted that reported mergers and acquisitions rose more than threefold, though reported transactions account for a small minority of all such activity.
PennEnergy's Research area can provide details of ongoing developments in the smart grid industry.
