Investments in Renewable Energy

Investments in Renewable Energy Top Fossil-Fuel Projects

(National renewable-energy policies encourage investments, reports say) (669)

By Karin Rives Staff Writer

Washington - Despite a continued weak global economy, investments in solar, wind and other renewable energy projects outpaced fossil fuel investments in 2009 for the second year in a row, a new study from the United Nations Environment Programme shows. This was true in both the United States and in the European Union.

China, meanwhile, emerged as the nation with the single largest new investment in clean energy, UNEP reported ( http://www.unep.org/sefi-ren21/documents/pdf/GlobalTrendsInSustainableEnergyInvestment2010_en_full.pdf ) (PDF, 3.5MB).

A twin study ( http://www.ren21.net/globalstatusreport/REN21_GSR_2010_full.pdf ) (PDF, 2.3MB) released by Paris-based Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century, REN21 ( http://www.ren21.net/ ), echoed those results. The growth in renewables was especially noteworthy in developing economies, the group said, which now possess more than half of global clean-energy capacity. China last year surpassed the United States to become the top investor in wind power and India ranked fifth - although the United States still had the largest installed capacity of wind power, 35.1 gigawatts, by late 2009, the organizations found.

The studies looked at both government and private-sector investments.

"The sustainable-energy investment story of 2009 was one of resilience, frustration and determination," U.N. Under Secretary-General Achim Steiner said in a statement. Despite the economic downturn and disappointment by those seeking a binding international climate treaty, "there was determination on the part of many industry actors and governments ... to transform the financial and economic crisis into an opportunity for greener growth," he said.

In Europe, 60 percent of all energy capacity installed in 2009 came from renewable sources, according to the reports. One-fifth of the continent's energy is now "green." Europe spent the equivalent of $43.7 billion on renewable energy projects last year, a decline of $4.7 billion from 2008 attributed to the slow economy.

The United States climbed to just more than 50 percent renewables out of all energy investments, and an American company - First Solar ( http://www.firstsolar.com/en/index.php ) - became the first to produce more than 1 gigawatt of solar power in one year. The United States is now the world's largest producer of ethanol and of geothermal and biomass power. Thirty-six states and the District of Columbia have set targets to ensure that a set percentage of all power consumed in the state comes from solar, wind, biomass, ethanol or other renewable sources, and that helped drive demand, the reports said.

Tax breaks and record investments in clean energy under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the economic stimulus bill Congress passed in 2009, continue to increase the nonconventional energy sector in the United States. Such progress notwithstanding, clean-energy investments in the North American region - the United States, Canada and Mexico - fell from more than $33 billion in 2008 to less than $21 billion in 2009, UNEP and REN21 reported.

UNCERTAINTY OVER NATIONAL POLICY

Wind was the clear winner among renewables in 2009. A record $67 billion was invested in wind power stations worldwide and such projects made up 56 percent of all new clean-energy projects.

There is indication, however, that the market for wind power will slow considerably in the United States this year. According to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) ( http://www.awea.org/ ), wind power installations have dropped by more than half so far this year. U.S. investment in manufacturing is also down, the organization said. AWEA and a number of environmental, industry and labor organizations have been urging Congress to pass a comprehensive energy bill. Acknowledging that they did not have enough votes to get such legislation passed, Democratic senators announced in mid-July that they will instead seek support on more limited measures.

Mohamed El-Ashry, chairman of REN21, said in statement that national policies have driven investments in more than 100 countries in the last few years. "For the upward trend of renewable energy growth to continue, policy efforts now need to be taken to the next level and encourage a massive scale-up of renewable technologies," he said.

ENDS

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