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Add to Preferred SourcesGlobal investment in renewable energy hit USD 288.9 billion in 2018, with the amount spent on new capacity far exceeding the financial backing for new fossil fuel power, according to new figures.
The numbers show that while investment was 11 percent down over the previous year, 2018 was the ninth successive year in which it exceeded USD 200 billion and the fifth successive year above USD 250 billion. The figure does not include hydropower above 50MW, which saw an additional USD 16 billion invested – also down in 2017 when USD 40 billion was invested.
The dip in investment in 2018 can be partly attributed to falling technology costs in solar photovoltaics, which meant that the required capacity could be secured at a lower cost, and a slowdown in solar power deployment in China.
However, globally, solar was still the largest focus of investment, with USD 139.7 billion in 2018, down 22 percent. Wind power investment increased two percent in 2018, to USD 134.1 billion. The other sectors lagged far behind, although investment in biomass and waste-to-energy increased 54 percent, to USD 8.7 billion.
The figures compare the amount invested in new renewable power capacity, which was USD 272.3 billion globally in 2018 (excluding large hydro), with that in new coal- and gas-fired generating capacity, which was USD 95 billion.
“Global trends continue to indicate that investing in renewable energy is investing in a profitable future. Investments in renewable energy in 2018 were three times higher than the amount invested in new coal and gas-fired generators,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme. “While this is encouraging, we need to significantly step up the pace, if we are to meet international climate & development goals.”
A geographical breakdown of the USD 288.9 billion figure for total renewable energy investment in 2018 shows that China led investment worldwide for the seventh successive year, at USD 91.2 billion. However, this was down 37 percent from 2017’s record number, due to a number of factors including a mid-year change in the government’s feed-in tariff policy, which hit investment in solar power.
China also accounted for 32 percent of the global total investment, followed by Europe at 21 percent, the United States at 17 percent, and Asia-Oceania (excluding China and India) at 15 percent. Smaller shares were seen in India at 5 percent, the Middle East and Africa at 5 percent, the Americas (excluding Brazil and the United States) at 3 percent and Brazil at 1 percent.
If China is excluded, renewable energy investment in the developing world actually increased 6 percent to USD 61.6 billion, a record high.
Investment in Europe jumped 39 percent to USD 61.2 billion, the highest level in two years, driven largely by large on- and off-shore wind investments.
A wealth of more detailed information on global investment in the financing of renewables in 2018 will be shared in the Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment report, to be released in September ahead of the Global Climate Action summit of the UN Secretary-General.
Original source: IRENA
Published on 18 June 2019