WASHINGTON, D.C– Sustainable and responsible investing (SRI) is making major strides in the world of “alternative investing,” according to a report prepared for the US SIF Foundation by the Center for Social Philanthropy at the Tellus Institute. The US SIF Foundation is affiliated with US SIF – The Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment.

According to the study, “Sustainability Trends in Alternative Investments in the United States,” $80.9 billion was invested in 375 alternative investment funds incorporating environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria at the outset of 2011, reflecting a 15.9-percent growth in combined assets since the beginning of 2010, when 346 alternative funds managed a combined total of $69.8 billion.

The alternative investment funds tracked in the report span the asset classes of private equity and venture capital funds, property investment funds and hedge funds, and they utilize a broad range of approaches to ESG criteria and themes.

PITTSBORO, N.C.  — Miraverse Power and Light, Piedmont Biofuels, Southern Energy Management and Piedmont Biofarm have launched a "Solar Double Cropping" project in Pittsboro.

The companies had a ribbon cutting on Nov. 4 for the endeavor which consists of an elevated 92.16 kilowatt solar array that generates electricity above the north field of Piedmont Biofarm, while sustainable produce is harvested on the ground. The nine-foot clearance of the solar photovoltaic system is designed to grow crops that thrive in partial shade.

“Double Cropping is a term we borrowed from the wind industry,” said Lyle Estill, co-founder of Piedmont Biofuels, and originator of the project. “We intend to demonstrate the ability to make electricity and grow food in the same space at the same time.”

 

Cape Fear Solar Systems, LLC, has completed a commercial installation of a solar water heating system at the newly opened Cape Fear Farmer’s Market in Elizabethtown, NC. The solar thermal system will enable this renovated building to benefit from the sun’s energy and offset the majority of the town’s monthly expenses related to hot water heating.

"Using solar in new construction is a forward thinking approach to managing water heating costs as all new buildings have a water heater in the budgeted. With a slightly higher investment up front for a solar thermal system, property owners can profit from 25 plus years of free hot water, courtesy of the sun," says John Donoghue, President of the Wilmington based Cape Fear Solar Systems, LLC.