Which countries are winning the race to invest in renewables?
Baku, May 13 (AZERTAC). Global clean energy finance and investment grew significantly in 2010 to US$243 billion, a 30% increase from 2009, according to new research, the Renewable Energy Focus magazine writes.
The generating capacity from renewable energy increased to 388 GW (an increase of 60 GW over 2009). Renewable capacity has now overtaken the amount of nuclear power installed worldwide.
Wind power continued to be the favored technology for investors at US$95 billion. But the solar sector also experienced significant growth in 2010, with investments growing 53% to a record US$79 billion, with more than 17 GW of new generating capacity globally. Germany accounted for 45% of global solar investments.
This report is effectively a dashboard - showing the growing influence that renewable energy is having on the energy sector in general. Topline numbers such as these indicate how far the renewables industry has come in a short space of time, and, importantly, in spite of the economic crisis that has proved crippling to many industries and countries.
But the game now is about much more than simply displacing fossil fuels for the benefit of the environment. Countries across the world are jockeying for position in order to get their slice of the economic benefit pie that growing renewable energy installed capacity brings.
The report gives a great insight into which countries are seizing the initiative.
China for example continued to solidify its position as the world’s clean energy powerhouse. Its record US$54.4 bn was up 39% from 2009. As has happened in many industries, China is doing what it does best in order to sew up a global manufacturing supply chain for solar and wind. China`s dominance in exporting PV modules - not to mention the wind turbines it is making for its own domestic market - is well documented. As is the current spat between China and the U.S. (which has complained to the WTO citing frustrations with Chinese subsidies and ‘non-transparency’).
Good old Germany - the renewables pioneer - rose to second place out of the G-20 nations, after experiencing a 100% increase - to US$41.2 bn. Italy is another success story, attracting US$13.9 bn in clean energy financing, rising to fourth in the table (from eighth in 2009). In fact the report noted that Italy is the first country to achieve grid parity for solar energy. In contrast to China, creating a local demand for renewable energy (i.e. through the German feed-in tariff) rather than directly subsidizing manufacturing, has lead to a healthy return in terms of jobs and investment for countries like Germany that moved early.
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