George Soros Hopes to Invest $1 Billion in Cleantech

It seems that investing in clean technology is all the rage these days. First, we learned that venture capitalists bet big on green tech last quarter. Soon thereafter, we were asking if cleantech is the next big boom. It seems that at least one investor thinks this trend is here to stay, as billionaire George Soros has announced he hopes to invest $1 billion in clean technology. Not only that (yes, not only a billion dollars), but Reuters reports that Soros also plans to "form and fund a new climate policy initiative with $10 million a year for 10 years."

That's a whole lot of money to fund viable renewable, alternative, and clean energy technologies, which could go a long way toward reducing global pollution. As Soros told reporters in a brief email, "The science is clear, what is less clear is whether world leaders will demonstrate the political will necessary to solve the problem."

Being an investor first, Soros has also stated that he won't be giving out money willy-nilly, but to those opportunities that appear profitable. This means, hopefully, that his investments will create consumer-ready solutions that can quickly and easily be brought to market, thus reducing the amount of time it takes for these technologies to affect positive change on climate change. Man. Business and environmentalism. Great when it all works together.

photo credit: World Economic Forum's flickr photostream/Creative Commons