Venture capitalists invested $2.57 billion in the clean technology sector in the first quarter, up 13 percent from a year earlier, with most of the money going to companies involved in solar power. That was the most money invested into the space since the third quarter of 2008 -- when the financial crisis started -- a report from the San Francisco-based consulting company Cleantech Group LLC said on Tuesday. The overall number of deals, at 159, was the lowest since mid-2009, meaning that investors were making fewer but larger bets.
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