The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reports that former Microsoft executive Martin Tobias as chairman and CEO of Imperium Renewables Inc. of Seattle, is leading a strong and seemingly effective push forward into the realm of renewable fuels. Imperium Renewables has just announced that it has closed a $113 million equity financing deal accompanied by a $101 million line of credit. Already, venture capital investment in the alternative energies or "clean tech" sector have nearly crested $3 billion dollars annually. Surely clean tech is a force to reckoned with.

Cleantech Venture Network, a green industries group, estimates that roughly $8 billion has already been invested in alternative energy venture projects, and it claims that absent of deeply deflated petroleum prices the current level of investment should continue.

"The biggest thing is, investors realize they can make money at it and do good at the same time," said Craig Cuddeback, chief operating officer of the Cleantech Group, which runs the venture network.

Investing in alternative energies is timely and becoming more efficient as industry leaders are beginning to organize into more powerful and leveraged groups. There will surly be a winnowing of the wheat from the fields as the questionable performers are weeded out.

As of right now I would recommend seeking out funds in this new growth sector which have broad coverage over a range of technological promise. In my opinion it's still too early to drop big chunks of cash on individual companies doing alternative energy exploration, but it's definitely an area you need to look into. Most investors are still wary of hard-core green investment, remembering the great dot com crash but if you have the nerve and you've been watching the players Cleantech may offer some great ways to catch the wave.