Investment in renewable energy fell by 23% in the first half of the year. Lower investment was driven by a decline in the volume of new installations in China and a further drop in solar panel prices, and therefore in investment costs. This follows from an analysis by Bloomberg.
Investment in China, which was the leader in renewable energy investment last year, fell by 34%, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) data. The overall global decline is estimated at 23%. However, the fall in investment was mainly caused by lower investment costs and solar panel prices. As a result, investment volumes also declined.
According to BNEF, investment volumes in the first half exceeded 116 billion dollars, with the second quarter slightly stronger, when investment was estimated at 61.5 billion dollars.
„Based on the data currently available, it looks almost certain that 2016 will not be as successful as the record year of 2015.“
Michael Liebreich, founder of Bloomberg Energy Finance
However, installation costs were the main reason for lower investment. The volume of installed capacity rose again and, according to BNEF, reached a new record.
The trend also indicates that, globally, more investment is flowing into larger renewable energy projects, while the share of decentralised sources is declining. Investment in solar power plants with low installed capacity fell by 32%.
Brazil and Europe were the main investment „drivers“ in the first half of the year, with investment volumes increasing by 40%, primarily thanks to offshore wind farms.
Renewable energy investment in 2015 Source: Unep.org
A sharp decline was recorded particularly in Africa and the Middle East, where investment fell by 46%. The United States saw only a slight reduction, cutting investment by 5%.
Translation disclaimer
This article is a machine translation of the Czech original and has not yet been fully reviewed. In case of any doubt, please refer to the Czech version.
