Investment in Renewable Energy

摘要

In 2012, renewable energy investment - wind, solar, biofuels, biomass and waste, geothermal, ocean, and small hydropower - decreased to USD 244 billion, down 12% year-on-year from 2011, according to data from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF, 2013). The annual reduction was the first since 2009, when biofuels investment notably slowed. Still, the overall 2012 level remained high and resilient relative to historical trends. The total investment level also was impressive given a number of short-term challenges. In 2012, renewable energy markets, particularly the most dynamic segments - solar PV and wind - confronted several indicators of pressure. These included challenging macroeconomic and financing conditions in some areas, policy uncertainty in some key countries, reduced economic incentives in some markets (particularly where solar PV deployment had accelerated amid rapid cost reductions), competition from other energy sources {e.g. natural gas in the United States), and industry upheaval as well as integration challenges. At the same time, investment continued to expand in some Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and emerging markets, including in Latin America, Asia and the Middle East and Africa, supported by attractive project economics.