It was earnings season last week, and a look at some of the results posted by some of the leading clean energy companies provides a fairly accurate picture of how this crucial industry is fairing in the midst of this punishing recession.

Take First Solar, the Tempe Ariz.,-based maker of solar panels, which tripled revenues during the first quarter 2009, announcing net income last week of $164.6 million on revenues of $418.2 million. The company brought in $46.6 million in net income last year on revenues of $196.9 million.

First Solar clearly did well but was quick to warn that despite its stellar numbers, it expected the market to stagnate, at least over the coming year, pummeled by the economic crisis. But on the upside, the company added that the Obama stimulus and the $100 billion allocated for clean energy would, in the long-term, help make the U.S. an attractive and growing market. …read more of Clean Energy Can Bring Profits here

During last year’s Earth Day the business community was just coming to grasp with the economic slowdown; there was a growing understanding of climate change issues and the need for clean energy solutions and responding to that growing interest, investors over the past year had opened the money valves to record levels. Global investments in clean energy reached $155 billion for the whole of 2008.

How things have changed. Months into a deep, global economic crisis, this year’s Earth Day is being celebrated amidst an investment drought — venture capital funds, which were early supporters of the clean energy sector — have all but pulled out of the sector. Banks are also not lending, despite unprecedented government support.

One report, released earlier this month, compiled by research firm New Energy Finance, showed that global investments in the clean energy sector plummeted to $13.3 billion in the first quarter of 2009, a 44% drop from the fourth quarter of 2008 and a 53% drop from the same time last year. …read more of Clean Energy Investments Key to Economic Recovery here

Green energy companies are reeling from the deep and ongoing economic crisis.

Yes, while the recently passed stimulus should assure strong — and unprecedented — government backing, the Treasury Department is still drafting rules on how to distribute this money. In the meantime, clean energy companies are left waiting and reeling.

Last month utility scale solar power developer, OptiSolar said that it will shut down its two manufacturing plants and lay off most of its workers, because it was unable to tap funding to secure its long-term growth.

This was a big setback for OptiSolar, which just a year ago had grabbed headlines with its plan to build the massive 550 megawatts Topaz solar farm in California’s Central Coast. …read more of Clean Energy Reeling; OptiSolar Shuts Down Two Plants here

Royal Dutch Shell is the latest oil company that has opted to back away from green energy investments to instead focus on its traditional oil and gas business.

Shell CEO Jeroen van der Veer made the announcement a couple of weeks ago at an investor conference in London, arguing that investment returns in the wind or solar business were too small.

Linda Cook, Shell’s executive director of gas and power also added: “If there aren’t investment opportunities which compete with other projects we won’t put money into it. We are businessmen and women. If there were renewable [which made money] we would put money into it.”

Overall the company said it was going to spend a staggering $32 billion, mostly to prop up oil and gas production but drop new investments in wind, solar and hydrogen energy. …read more of Shell Walks Away from Solar and Wind Investments here

2008 has turned out to be a banner year for clean energy investments by venture capital, which increased 22% from $2.7 billion in 2007 to $3.3 billion in 2008, according to data published by market research firm Clean Edge.

As a percent of total venture capital investments, energy tech grew nearly 30% , from 9.1% of all investments in 2007 to 11.8% in 2008. That’s quite a jump when considering that in 2000, energy tech represented just a half a percent of all venture capital investments.

But given the economic slowdown, investment levels this year are likely to drop.“To a large extent, the clean-energy industry has been a good-news story — what other industry has sustained annual growth rates exceeding 30% for the past decade? But the clean-energy industry is not immune to the forces impacting the overall economy. …read more of Clean Energy Investment Up 22% in 2008 here