The Blackstone Group has established of a new business group to focus on investments in the cleantech energy sector and provide advice on renewable energy strategies.

The new unit is led by James Kiggen, who has joined the firm’s corporate private equity group as a senior managing director. Kiggen was most recently a senior vice president at AllianceBernstein, where he created and managed a research team focused on emerging sciences and technologies.

He is also a former managing director at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette and Credit Suisse First Boston, where he was a top-ranked equities analyst covering public and private technology companies.

Also joining as principals from AllianceBernstein are Walter Vester and Richard Troyer. Vester has seven years’ operating experience in communication and energy technology companies and was a project leader at the Boston Consulting Group. Troyer was a sell-side research analyst in biotechnology at CSFB and Piper Jaffray, and a consultant at Marakon Associates.

“Jamie and his team’s understanding of rapidly evolving technology applications in solar and wind power generation, carbon sequestration, next generation ethanol, and other renewables will be a key input in Blackstone’s investment decisions,” said Garrett Moran, senior managing director at Blackstone.