I recently attended the UBS Global Clean Energy and Utilities Conference and met with some analysts in the clean tech field. It is clear that the market backdrop is still more favourable to energy efficiency, whereas the renewable energy sector continues to be challenging. In the current cost-conscious economies, companies want to stay competitive while reducing costs at the same time. Energy efficiency themes clearly play out well in this environment. For instance, one would expect the rise of gasoline prices in the US would hold back consumers from buying cars, but the demand for fuel-efficient cars actually spurred demand for automobiles in March. Another piece of anecdotal evidence is the recent growth of Kingspan, a leading supplier of energy saving solutions to the construction industry. The company reported an impressive 14% organic revenue growth in 2011 despite facing a challenging construction market.
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