Global Clean Energy Investment Sees Two-Year Drop

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After falling 9% in 2012, global investment in clean energy dropped again by 12% in 2013, according to a report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF).

Specifically, the report shows investment was $254 billion last year, down from a revised $288.9 billion in 2012 and the record $317.9 billion of 2011. BNEF says the reduced volume of investment last year reflected two main influences: a continued reduction in the cost of solar photovoltaic systems, and the impact on investor confidence of shifts in policy toward renewable power in Europe and the U.S.

The two biggest investing countries, China and the U.S., both saw their dollar commitments fall in 2013. China invested $61.3 billion in clean energy last year, down a modest 3.8% from $63.8 billion in 2012. According to BNEF, this was the first reduction in Chinese clean energy investment in over a decade. The U.S. saw investment slip a more significant 8.4% from $53 billion to $48.4 billion.


However, the report says the most striking changes in geographical focus were in Japan and Europe. In the former, investment surged 55% to $35.4 billion in 2013 from $22.7 billion in 2012, spurred on by a boom in small-scale solar installations as the country struggles to fill the gap left by its shuttered nuclear plants. BNEF says the big story was Europe, where investment slumped 41% to $57.8 billion last year from $97.8 billion as big economies such as Germany, Italy and France either restricted subsidy payments for new projects or else failed to disperse uncertainty over future support.

Looking at global clean energy investment by sector, the report says wind power saw a small decline to $80.3 billion in 2013 from $80.9 billion in 2012, while there was a more pronounced reduction for solar to $114.7 billion from $142.9 billion. Energy-smart technologies such as smart grid, storage, electric vehicles and efficiency saw an increase to $34.6 billion from $32.7 billion, while the fourth largest area, biomass and waste-to-energy, suffered a drop to $8 billion from $13.8 billion. The report adds that biofuels fell from $6.6 billion in 2012 to just $4.9 billion in 2013, less than a fifth of the peak for investment in ethanol and biodiesel transport fuel, recorded in 2006 and 2007.

The BNEF report can be found here.

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