Investors this week announced the formation of NewWorld Capital Group, a private equity firm that will invest in middle-market companies and related infrastructure projects in the cleantech sphere.

Hedge fund billionaire George Soros is pouring more than $1 billion into a different kind of green.

Italy’s Ambienta SGR has closed its EUR 217.5 million ($317 million) Ambienta I fund. According to the London-based research firm Prequin, the fund is Europe’s largest private fund specializing in environmental investments.

London-based investment firm Absolute Return Partners recently launched a new vehicle, the NEAS Power fund.  

Hedge Fund Research is adding to its already voluminous HFRX series of indices with six new benchmarks tracking commodity and energy hedge funds.

London-based Impax Asset Management, an AIM-listed investment manager focused on the environmental sector, has appointed John McDonald as head of sales and marketing.

NGP Energy Technology Partners, a Washington, DC-based private equity fund, has closed a second cleantech fund worth $348 million.

Is GLG Partners going green?

The London-based hedge fund giant has hired consulting firm Mercer to see how climate changes and other environmental concerns are changing mainstream investing.

By Todd Walker -- HedgeTracker.com has released its latest list of Top Solar-Focused hedge funds, and the Q1 2009 list includes a few newcomers: Partner Fund Management, Cavalry Asset Management and Prescott Group Capital Management.

While the rate of green- and cleantech-focused hedge fund launches has slowed over the past year, that isn’t stopping one investment manager from getting into the green game.