Global Renewable Energy Investments Continue Growing
Washington, D.C.——Emerging from the global economic recession, investments in renewable energy technologies continued their steady rise in 2011, with total new investments in renewable power and fuels (excluding large hydropower and solar hot water) reaching $257 billion, up from $220 billion in 2010. In a year marked by falling costs for renewable energy technologies, net investment in renewable power capacity was $40 billion greater than investment in fossil fuel capacity, according to new research conducted by the Worldwatch Institute’s Climate and Energy program (www.worldwatch.org) for the Institute’s Vital Signs Online service.
Total renewable energy investments in industrial countries in 2011 accounted for 65 percent of global investment, increasing 21 percent to $168 billion overall. In contrast, the 35 percent of global new investment that went to developing countries increased 10 percent, to $89 billion. Of that sum, China, India, and Brazil accounted for $71 billion in total investment. Investment in India grew 62 percent——the highest growth rate for any single country over 2010 totals. In 2011, “financial new investment” in renewable energy installations (a category that excludes small-scale projects and R&D) in industrial countries outpaced investments in the developing world, but in 2010 investments in this category in developing countries had surpassed those in industrial countries for the first time.
