Interest in Clean Energy and Climate Change Investment Grows

by DAVIS BROWN PRC Agency

Driving Investor Interest In Clean Energy And Climate

Younger generations are driving social impact aspects of solar energy investing.

Crowdfunding is playing a larger role in clean energy investing.

Consumer products like solar ovens and portable powerbanks are a key part of clean energy fundraising.

Tesla is one of the stock market’s biggest success stories of recent years, but the clean energy boom doesn’t start and end with Elon Musk. There’s now a range of booming companies in the solar sector thanks to innovative new methods of raising funds and the changing profile of consumers, alongside other reasons.

If you’re still on the fence about whether to join in the solar hype, it helps to know more about up-and-coming cleantech companies and why so many investors are making the shift already.

Changing consumer behavior

Millennials were once the new generation that everyone made fun of for lacking capital and making poor financial decisions. Now, the tide has turned — Millennials account for around $200 billion of spending power in the US. Plus, they’re now joined by Generation Z, who are beginning to enter the workforce and will play an increasingly important role in the economy in years to come.

What does this mean? The younger generations have shown a significant preference for companies with a positive social impact, and they’d prefer to buy products that have a good influence on the world where possible. One study found that local corporate social responsibility actions improved Millennials' perception of an employer’s brand by 53.1%.

In other words, we can expect younger people to become avid consumers of companies offering clean energy solutions.

Due to the increasing influence of these generations, companies have now been forced to pay attention to their social impact if they wish to remain relevant — and investors are closely watching the firms that have taken action already.

The role of crowdfunding

One of the big game-changers behind solar power’s ascent has been the increased involvement of crowdfunding. Whereas individual investors were once limited to buying shares of publicly traded companies, while earlier-stage startups were for angel investors only, crowdfunding platforms have opened the door for anyone to invest in younger firms.

This means that the socially-focused younger generations aren’t just limited to buying products or services from companies they care about — they can also fund them directly.

Even PayPal launched its own crowdfunding platform, the Generosity Network, in November 2020. It aims to compete with big players like GoFundMe and will allow small businesses, charities, and individuals to carry out campaigns.

Crowdfunding and solar power

Solar-powered products are a great fit for crowdfunding campaigns. They tend to be a cause that consumers rally around, and they can therefore raise money and go viral easily.

One crowdfunding platform on the rise that could make a promising investment is StartEngine (OTCPK:STGC). It hosts a few campaigns for solar-powered firms. For instance, GoSun is running a crowdfunding campaign for its portable power solutions, which are used for everyday tasks like purifying water, cooling, charging, and cooking.

If you don’t want to commit to a single company or crowdfunding platform, one way to get involved is Amplify CrowdBureau (LEND), an ETF that contains various peer-to-peer and crowdfunding platforms.

Time to get involved?

With consumer trends tilting toward clean energy products more than ever and consumer and investor behavior beginning to become one and the same (due to the influence of crowdfunding), there’s arguably no better time to consider a solar investment.

Plus, it’s early enough to just about be ahead of the pack.

As the disaster relief and outdoor leisure markets experience explosive demand, GoSun is growin