Solar investment performs well in 2011.
According to new figures from Bloomberg Energy Finance, solar investment proved particularly successful in 2011. The uncertainty in the global economy has led to investment in certain sectors dipping over the past couple of years, but clean energy and solar power in particular has continued to attract investors. Figures released last week show that total new investment in clean energy increased by 5% last year and reached a record of $260 billion, almost five times the total in 2004. Solar power investment specifically increased by an impressive 36% - nearly double that of wind power.
These figures are considered by industry leaders to be particularly striking given not only the sluggish global economy, but also the difficult year that was experienced by the clean energy sector. A fall in share prices, together with cuts in many government subsidies and the lack of availability of bank finance all hit the sector in 2011. The Chief Executive of Bloomberg New Energy Finance, Michael Liebreich, commented that “the performance of solar is even more remarkable when you consider that the price of photovoltaic modules fell by close to 50% during 2011, and now stands 75% lower than mid 2008”.
The US saw particular investment growth in the clean energy and solar sectors, overtaking China as the world’s biggest spender with a total investment of almost $56 billion, an increase of a third. Mr Liebreich confirmed that “the news that the US jumped back into the lead in clean energy investment last year will reassure those who worried that it was falling behind other countries”. Europe saw investment rise by 3% to over 100 billion euros, again with solar installations featuring most strongly.
Investment in the clean energy sector and solar investment in particular is likely to continue to increase throughout 2012. Mr Liebreich said that “2012 looks like being another challenging year, with the European financial crisis continuing to fester” but confirmed that “we will be seeing a new generation of technology starting to hit the market, and we are expecting important announcements by some of the biggest energy and engineering companies in the world as they take advantage of current market conditions to establish themselves in the sector”.
To discuss exciting potential investment in solar please contact us here at Emerging Real Estate.
USA
UK
Istanbul
Montenegro
Solar Investments
