????風險投資界把綠色能源投資稱為“死亡之谷”。掌握創(chuàng)新綠色技術的許多很有希望的公司，最終卻因為資金短缺而夭折。結果證明，創(chuàng)辦能源公司不同于成立一家軟件公司。這可不是幾個天才在車庫里就能辦到的。能源公司的經(jīng)營需要達到巨大的規(guī)模，而且動輒需要數(shù)十億美元的資金投入。

????所以，清潔技術初創(chuàng)公司投資縮水并不令人意外。據(jù)調查公司Cleantech Group最近公布的數(shù)字顯示，2012年，風投公司在全球清潔技術公司投資額達到65億美元，比之前一年減少了33%。

????到底發(fā)生了什么？隨著天然氣越來越便宜，而蜂擁而至的中國廠商又推出了更廉價的系統(tǒng)，光伏太陽能設備制造商遭到了沉重打擊。Brightsource是一家前景廣闊的初創(chuàng)公司，在美國莫哈韋沙漠建立了一個龐大的太陽熱能發(fā)電廠，如今卻也不得不推遲首次公開募股。就連清潔技術投資的先鋒、硅谷最激進的風投公司之一——優(yōu)點資本（Vantage Point），最近也宣布將停止為125億美元的清潔技術基金募集資金。優(yōu)點資本投資的公司包括電動汽車制造商特斯拉（Tesla）和Brightsource。這家公司發(fā)現(xiàn)，許多機構投資者對于綠色能源長線投資已經(jīng)失去了興趣。

????風投紛紛撤離的時候，卻有一群富有的名流開始嘗試一種新的清潔技術投資方式，其中包括沃爾瑪（Wal-Mart）董事長羅布?沃爾頓、Gap公司董事長鮑勃?費舍爾，以及價值數(shù)十億美元的法拉龍基金（Farallon）創(chuàng)始人湯姆?斯泰爾。他們都資助了一家名為EFW（分別代表能源、食品與水）的公司。投資重點并不是能源初創(chuàng)公司，而是在整個價值鏈進行長線投資，從擁有前景廣闊的小規(guī)模技術型私營企業(yè)到大規(guī)模項目，都是這家公司投資的目標。

????EFW主要致力于對能源、食品與水這些資源的投資。隨著全球人口增加以及發(fā)展中國家越來越多的人實現(xiàn)中產階級的生活方式，人們對這些資源的需求將日益增加。同時，這些資源的價格變化也將變得更加反復無常。EFW聯(lián)合創(chuàng)始人兼合伙人、曾在麥肯錫公司（McKinsey）擔任顧問的斯科特?雅各布斯說：“我們會告訴尋求投資的基金，氣候變化可能給他們帶來的風險，以及自然資源正變得越來越稀有這一事實。實際上，這個投資主題貫穿了所有投資行業(yè)，但卻沒有得到很好的重視。”

????這家投資公司投資的初創(chuàng)企業(yè)包括太陽能開發(fā)商Sungevity和以海藻為原料的化學品公司Solazyme。同時，公司還將投資與能源、水和食品相關的大型項目。雅各布斯說：“我們比其他投資公司更加靈活——我們是長線投資者，可以在任何行業(yè)、任何地方以及一家公司生命周期的任何階段進行投資。”看來，這些了解內情的投資者們正在下一個賭注，那就是，長線投資+靈活投資必將帶來回報。（財富中文網(wǎng)）

????譯者：劉進龍/汪皓

????In the world of venture capital they call it the valley of death. Scores of promising start-ups armed with innovative green technology end up stranded in the desert for lack of capital. Energy, it turns out, is not like launching a software company. You need a lot more than a few brilliant geeks in a garage. Energy operates on a huge scale and can require billions in investment capital.

????It's little surprise then that investment in clean tech startups is shrinking. According to the latest numbers from the research firm the Cleantech Group, venture capital firms globally invested $6.5 billion in clean tech companies in 2012—down 33% from the previous year.

????What's going on? Photovoltaic solar manufacturers have been hard hit by cheap natural gas as well as the Chinese flooding the market with inexpensive systems. Brightsource, the promising startup building a massive solar thermal plant in the Mojave desert, delayed its IPO. Even the VC firm Vantage Point partners, for years in the vanguard of clean tech investing and one of the most Silicon Valley's aggressive players, recently announced that it has stopped raising its $1.25 billion clean tech fund. Vantage Point, which invested in electric car maker Tesla (TSLA) as well as Brightsource, has found that many institutional investors are losing their appetite for long-shot green energy bets.

????As the VC are retreating, a small group of well-heeled notables including Wal-Mart (WMT) Chairman Rob Walton, Gap (GPS) Chairman Bob Fisher, and Tom Steyer, the founder of the multi-billion Farallon fund, are experimenting with a new clean-tech investing approach. They are backing a firm called EFW (for Energy, Food, Water) and instead of focusing only on energy startups, it is making long-term bets all along the value chain from small private firms with promising technology to large-scale projects.

????EFW focuses on investments in those resources—energy, food, and water—that are bound to grow more in demand as global population levels rise and millions more in the developing world achieve middle-class life-styles. The prices of these resources are likely to become more volatile as well. Says Scott Jacobs, a co-founder and partner at EFW and a former consultant at McKinsey: "We tell pension funds looking to invest how exposed to risk they are from climate change and the that fact natural resources are becoming increasingly scarce. It's a theme that cuts across all the investment silos and hasn't been managed well."

????The firm has invested in startups such as solar financer Sungevity and the algae-based chemical company Solazyme. At the same time it will invest in big projects related to energy, water and food. Says Jacobs: "We're more flexible than other investors—we're long-term investors who can put money anywhere in the sectors and anywhere in the world and anywhere in the life cycle of a company." The smart money, it seems, is betting that long term, flexibility will pay.