ARTICLE

A Record $495 Billion Invested in Renewable Energy in 2022

Solar panels
Photovoltaic panels at the Al Dhafra Solar project, constructed by Electricite de France SA (EDF) and Jinko Power Technology Co. Ltd., in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Tuesday, Jan 31, 2023. During a visit to the site French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire said to journalists “We are interested and we will see what the decision of Saudi Arabia will be,” in response to question about bidding for the kingdom’s first nuclear plant. Photographer: Christopher Pike/Bloomberg

Investment in renewable energy last year rose to another record, BloombergNEF estimates, approaching half a trillion dollars for the first time.

Solar investment jumped 36% year-on-year to $308 billion and is estimated to have installed 260 gigawatts of new capacity in 2022. Investment in the second-largest sector, wind, stayed roughly stable at $175 billion, held back by slow procedures for securing permission to build on land and connect to the grid, especially in Europe and North America.

China made up 55% of the world’s renewable energy investment, putting $164 billion into new solar farms and $109 billion into new wind farms. The US was the next largest single market, at nearly $50 billion. The European Union countries invested just $39 billion, down 10% from 2021 despite a strong rise in solar.

While these investment figures are the highest ever, they fall short of BNEF estimates of what is needed to be on track for global net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Investment in renewables

Track investment in the energy transition. Read the 2023 edition of our Energy Transition Investment Trends.


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