Kleiner Perkins Likely to Exceed Cleantech Goal

Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers will likely exceed its planned $200 million outlay for clean technology companies in its current fund, general partner Ray Lane told attendees at the Global Technology Symposium in Palo Alto, Calif.

Menlo Park-based Kleiner Perkins announced in September that it would double its investment allocations for environmentally friendly, or green technology companies to $200 million. To date, the firm lists seven cleantech companies in its portfolio, focused on developing fuel cells, clean-burning coal, biofuels and next-generation solar panels.

Going forward, Lane told conference attendees Friday that he is interested in investing in two areas absent from the portfolio — wind and geothermal energy generation technologies — as well in startups develop advanced techniques for carbon sequestration. Kleiner Perkins typically invests funds over a three-year period, Lane said, adding that the firm has not set a cleantech target for its next fund.

Describing himself as a Republican and historically not an environmentalist, Lane attributed his growing interest in cleantech in large part to alarm over climate change and the continuing negative impact of fossil fuel emissions. Lane, who joined Kleiner Perkins after serving as president of Oracle, said he also saw green technology as a promising way to generate profits for the fund, as energy today constitutes a $2 trillion market.