• Campus
    • Campus
    • Student Life
    • Administration
    • Faculty
    • Higher Education
  • City & County
    • City & County
    • Chapel Hill
    • Carrboro
    • Education
    • Public Safety
  • Politics
    • Politics
    • North Carolina
    • National
  • Sports
    • Sports
    • Men's Basketball
    • Women's Basketball
    • Wrestling
    • Men's Tennis
    • Women's Tennis
    • Track and Field
    • Fencing
    • Swimming and Diving
    • Gymnastics
  • Culture
    • Culture
    • Arts & Entertainment
    • Food
  • Opinion
    • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Cartoons
    • Columns
    • Letters
    • Kvetching Board
  • Multimedia
    • Multimedia
    • Video
    • Galleries
    • Audio
  • About
    • About
    • Hiring
    • Board of Directors
    • Alumni
    • Corrections
    • Contact
    • Meet the editors
    • Policies & Bylaws
  • Advertise
    • Advertise
    • Policies
    • Events Calendar
    • Celebrations
    • Obituaries
  • Donate
  • Story Collections

  • HeelsHousing
  • Shop
  • Buy Photos
  • 1893 Brand Studio
  • Alumni
  • Events Calendar
  • Celebrations/Obits
    • Celebrations
    • Obituaries
  • Southern Neighbor
  • Newsletter
  • Classifieds
  • Campus
  • City & County
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Donate
  • HeelsHousing
  • Search
The Daily Tar Heel

125 Years of Editorial Freedom

The Daily Tar Heel

125 Years of Editorial Freedom

    • Campus
      • Campus
      • Student Life
      • Administration
      • Faculty
      • Higher Education
    • City & County
      • City & County
      • Chapel Hill
      • Carrboro
      • Education
      • Public Safety
    • Politics
      • Politics
      • North Carolina
      • National
    • Sports
      • Sports
      • Men's Basketball
      • Women's Basketball
      • Wrestling
      • Men's Tennis
      • Women's Tennis
      • Track and Field
      • Fencing
      • Swimming and Diving
      • Gymnastics
    • Culture
      • Culture
      • Arts & Entertainment
      • Food
    • Opinion
      • Opinion
      • Editorials
      • Cartoons
      • Columns
      • Letters
      • Kvetching Board
    • Multimedia
      • Multimedia
      • Video
      • Galleries
      • Audio
    • About
      • About
      • Hiring
      • Board of Directors
      • Alumni
      • Corrections
      • Contact
      • Meet the editors
      • Policies & Bylaws
    • Advertise
      • Advertise
      • Policies
      • Events Calendar
      • Celebrations
      • Obituaries
    • Donate
    • Story Collections

    • HeelsHousing
    • Shop
    • Buy Photos
    • 1893 Brand Studio
    • Alumni
    • Events Calendar
    • Celebrations/Obits
      • Celebrations
      • Obituaries
    • Southern Neighbor
    • Newsletter
    • Classifieds
  • In the News
  • Campus
  • Campus
  • UNC-Chapel Hill
  • Campus
  • Carrboro

11/23/2015, 12:35am

UNC investment in alternative energy are positive

Share

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Mail
  • Print
BY Charles Talcott

UNC-system efforts to invest in alternative energy have steadily grown — and the $4.6 billion endowment is thriving.

The fund, which saw a 9.3 percent rate of return on investment, ranked among the top five percent of Cambridge Associates’ universe of college and university endowment funds. The Chapel Hill Investment Fund’s $2.9 billion endowment specifically increased by $243.9 million.

“The driver was exceptional investment manager performance,” said Jonathon King, president and CEO of the UNC Management Company — the body that invests the university system’s endowment. “We just had a number of managers this year that had unbelievably good years.”

Interest in expanding investments in alternative energy began in September 2014 when the UNC Board of Trustees passed a non-binding clean energy resolution sponsored by the Sierra Student Coalition.

And in a follow-up presentation to the board Thursday, King said alternative energy currently represents $17.6 million of the entire system’s $4.6 billion endowment. This figure is up $12.6 million since 2005 and is $1.3 million greater than the average alternative energy investment of peer institutions.


Editors Picks

A Year in Review: Elizabeth Adkins looks back at her year as president


'I can't believe that happens': Status of Women Committee discusses pay discrepancies at UNC


Op-ed: Be heard and attend the Reverse Town Hall on Gun Violence



“The fact of the matter is that our process is one of deliberation and getting to know things, so it’s a time consuming process,” King said.

He said the company will be as discerning for investments into alternative energy as it is in its other investment sectors.

Liz Kazal, field director of Environment North Carolina, said the management company’s progress is encouraging, and investing in alternative energy is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

“As soon as we can get the turbines spinning off our coast and solar panels on every single viable roof, the sooner we can start laying the groundwork for a clean energy future in North Carolina,” Kazal said.

North Carolina ranks fourth in the nation in terms of solar power capacity added in the last two years, she said. King noted investments in solar energy with three alternative energy companies as being successful in his presentation.

But Rob Zawada, a UNC junior and chief investment officer of the Portfolio Management Team, said the alternative energy industry is facing several significant challenges. These include expiring technology subsidies, unmet performance expectations and the booming natural gas market.

“From a financial standpoint, renewable energy pure play companies are not very attractive right now,” he said.

Pure play companies, he said, are solely involved with renewable energy. But renewable energy sectors built into traditional energy companies might be a more viable investment.

Stephen Arbogast, a finance professor at Kenan-Flagler Business School, also said traditional energy companies present a safer opportunity for investors. An example of risk associated with alternative energy is Kior, a biofuel company that made gasoline and diesel from wood chips. Bill Gates was an investor in Kior, but after the company lost $600 million dollars, it filed for bankruptcy.

“Expecting endowments to simply turn their backs on those companies is probably misguided,” Arbogast said. “Their job is fundamentally to produce reasonable returns.”

He said investment managers taking climate change into account is a necessary and welcome practice, and solar power and energy storage are promising areas of the alternative energy industry.

“I sometimes think the sweet spot answer is more clear than we acknowledge,” he said. “It would be nice to see those two things favored and encouraged as opposed to people staking out maximum positions.”

state@dailytarheel.com


Next up in Higher Education

  • The competition for admission is heating up among state colleges, UNC-CH included

  • Duke protest sparks student interest, no response from administration

  • 'So much bigger than me': UNC system's first African-American president talks election, future


Next up in UNC system

  • The competition for admission is heating up among state colleges, UNC-CH included

  • 'So much bigger than me': UNC system's first African-American president talks election, future

  • UNC system happenings for April 16, 2018


The Daily Tar Heel welcomes thoughtful discussion on all of our stories, but please keep comments civil and on-topic.

Latest Print Edition

Print Edition Print Archive

The Daily Tar Heel for March 5, 2018

Special Print Edition
    • Front Page
    • Campus
    • City & County
    • Politics
    • Sports
    • Culture
    • Opinion
    • Donate
    • HeelsHousing
Daily Tar Heel To Homepage
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Shop
  • Buy Photos
  • 1893 Brand Studio
  • Alumni
  • Events Calendar
  • Celebrations/Obituaries
  • Southern Neighbor
  • Newsletter
  • Classifieds

All Rights Reserved

© Copyright 2018 The Daily Tar Heel

Powered by Solutions by The State News.