Jan. 14 (Bloomberg) — Clean energy investment slid 11
percent last year after governments in industrial nations
slashed subsidies for technologies ranging from wind turbines to
solar power and biomass.
The $268.7 billion invested in the industry last year was
down from a record $302.3 billion in 2011, the second highest
reading ever and was five times the level in 2004, according to
data compiled by Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
Investment fell 32 percent in the U.S., 51 percent in
Italy, 68 percent in Spain and 44 percent in India. That offset
gains in China and from small hydropower projects, which were
among the few bright spots in the report released today.
“The most striking aspect of these figures is that the
decline was not bigger given the fierce headwinds the clean
energy sector faced,” Michael Liebreich, chief executive of
BNEF, said in the statement.
He attributed the declines to the debt crises in the U.S.
and Europe, which pared support for incentives that bolster the
industry, and to a 24 percent decline in solar panel prices last
year. All segments of the renewable energy industry experienced
a drop in investment except for small hydro, which rose 17
percent to $7.6 billion.
Solar projects reaped the most funding with $142.5 billion
of the total, followed by wind at $78.3 billion. Energy-smart
technologies including electric vehicles and energy efficiency
saw $18.8 billion investment. Biomass and waste-to-energy
investment declined 27 percent to $9.7 billion.
Broader Market
The figures also showed a broadening of the market for
renewable energy technologies beyond the big industrial nations
led by the U.S., Germany, Spain and Italy that for years have
been the mainstay for wind and solar developers.
Australia, South Africa, Morocco, Ukraine, Mexico, Kenya,
Brazil, Ethiopia, Chile and South Korea each had at least one
project that obtained financing worth more than $250 million
during 2012, the London-based researcher said.
China’s total surged 20 percent to a record $67.7 billion.
It was more than 50 percent above the U.S., which reaped $44.2
billion for its clean energy industry.
South Africa saw investment surge to $5.5 billion from “a
few 10s of millions in 2011” as a result of its wind and solar
tender. Japan’s new subsidy program helped investment rise as
much as 75 percent to $16.3 billion.
Venture capital and private equity investment in clean
energy companies fell 34 percent to $5.8 billion, its’ lowest
since 2006. Public market investment dropped 57 percent to $5.1
billion, the lowest since 2004.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Louise Downing in London at
ldowning4@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Reed Landberg at
landberg@bloomberg.net
