Mar 01 2009
Financial guru Jim Mellon expects solar to be bigger than the internet
Jim Mellon, the financier who predicted the current world financial crisis two years before it happened has given his weighty support to solar energy as both a means of replacing fossil fuels and of creating healthy yields for investors. In a recent rich list compiled by The Times newspaper, they made special mention of entrepreneurs who have branched out in to renewable investment. Among these, Jim Mellon features highly because of his reputation as a man with a track record of forecasting market trends twinned with a portfolio of shrewd investments.
Mellon, based in the Isle of Man and with a net worth of around £500m is established as one of the largest employers on the island and although some of his assets have come under pressure from the international financial crisis, he continues to look towards renewables as the future.
Jim Mellon was quoted in The Times as saying,
“Solar is genuinely clean, it ticks all sorts of zeitgeist boxes. Within five years, solar power will be as cheap as oil and gas without the subsidy,” adding that, “It will be bigger than the internet in five years”
Mellon backed up his words last summer by investing in a mining company called Emerging Metals which focuses on metals used in the manufacture of the latest photovoltaic technology. It is believed that in 2010, with the introduction of the feed-in tariff in the UK, there will be a boom in solar investment as the government will guarantee premium rates for megawatts generated by small solar and other renewable producers. Leading entrepreneurs on the rich list have already made this connection and are starting to back renewables before they boom.
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carbon emissions China Clean energy cash back Climate change DECC Department of Energy and Climate Change Ed Milliband electricity energy act Energy Bill feed in tariff FIT fossil fuels Friends of the Earth Germany Gordon Brown green energy green investment green new deal green policy Greg Barker Kevin Langley Megawatts National grid photovoltaic PV renewable energy solar solar energy Solar Feed In Tariff solar fit solar industry solar installation solar investment solar investments solar panels solar power solar products solar PV Spain UK UK Government US wind power wind turbine
WE NEED SOMEONE WITH INSIGHT TO HELP IN THE US. I REALIZE THE WORLD IS ANTI US AND I FULLY UNDERSTAND HOW THAT HAPPENED BUT THAT DOES NOT MEAN THIS COUNTRY DOES NOT NEED HELP. I LOT OF THE INTELLIGENT MEN ARE IN EUROPE THAT HAVE BETTER INSIGHT AND ARE NOT AS GREEDY AS THE POLITICIANS IN THE US. WE NEED TO BE HELPING EACH OTHER AS THE WORLD IS IN THIS MESS TOGETHER. I AM A FEMALE IN MY 50′S TRYING TO GET INTO A NEW FIELD IN SOUTH FLORIDA AND I CAN ASSURE YOU IT HAS NOT BEEN EASY.
ALSO, THE POLITICIANS IN THE US CANNOT GET THEIR ACT TOGETHER BECAUSE THE GREED IN THIS COUNTRY IS SO SEVERE. YOU CANNOT BUILD ANYTHING WITH PURE GREED. THESE MEN HAVE TUNNEL VISION AND CANNOT SEE THE WHOLE PICTURE. WE NEED SOMEONE TO COME TO SOUTH FLORIDA TO JUMP START FLORIDA IN SOLAR AND START SOME INDUSTRIES IN THIS VERY NICE CLIMATE AND PLACE TO LIVE. WITH SO MANY SMART, INTELLIGENT PEOPLE IN THE WORLD, WHERE ARE THESE PEOPLE.