Read the full Your Mark on the World article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/1OcoTVO. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. Scott Hill, President of Clean Energy Advisors, sees climate change as the biggest challenge of our day and he’s doing something about it. Having already financed 67 megawatts of solar power in recent years, he’s eyeing another 300. Financing solar power gives investors an opportunity to earn a financial return while doing good, making them impact investors. Scott sees the need to broaden the base of people who have the opportunity to investor for impact, something that has been limited largely to high-net-worth individuals. He says, “Within the discussion around climate change, there is this issue of creating opportunities for a larger group of people to invest based on their values. There is an overwhelming percentage of people who like the idea of investing based on values. It’s up to the investment community to create solid investment opportunities that allow people to make a difference and earn a reasonable rate of return.” He is excited about his work. “Our passion around distributive generation and clean energy is why we get up and do our jobs everyday. But, and it’s a kind of ‘pinch me’ thing is we’ve identified a niche within the solar industry that allows more investors to participate (invest based on their values) AND has several characteristics that make it equally if not more interesting from an investment perspective.” Despite his enthusiasm, Scott still sees challenges in the industry, despite its strength and positive trend lines. “History,” he says, along with “well publicized solar company failures, and negative comments from fossil fuel interests are probably the 3 biggest challenges we face.” Some of these experiences have left people cool to solar investments when, Scott says, “The reality is very positive for our industry.” Read the full Your Mark on the World article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/1OcoTVO. Please consider whether a friend or colleague might benefit from this piece and, if so, share it.
#421: Solar Financing Big Opportunity for Impact Investors