Renewables investment goes mainstream

UN report backed by latest figures from wind and solar sectors

Investment in renewable energy is no longer a fringe activity for environmentalists but is now mainstream, according to a recently published UN report. The boast is supported by the latest indicators from the solar and wind energy sectors.

Global investment capital flows into renewable energy companies reached $100bn (£50bn) last year, according to the United Nations' annual Global Trends in Sustainable Energy Investment report. More than $30bn of the total was the result of mergers and acquisitions led by investment banks such as JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs.

The UN data “is a powerful market signal to the arrival of an alternative future for today’s fossil-fuel dominated energy markets,” said the report. “Signals move markets, and the signal these investment numbers make is that markets are becoming more liquid, more globalised and more mainstream.”

A vindication of the UN’s enthusiasm came from research by the Worldwatch Institute and the Prometheus Institute in Massachusetts which shows global production of photovoltaic cells increased by 51 per cent in 2007 to 3733Mw. More than 2935Mw of solar capacity was installed in 2007, bringing cumulative global installations since 1996 to more than 9740Mw.

Researchers from the Worldwatch Institute praised the policies of Germany and Spain where solar power has been heavily promoted. Germany has the highest number of solar installations and its efforts to both produce and install solar panels have raised Europe to the world’s number one producer of solar systems, overtaking Japan.

China is the third largest solar maker, having overtaken the US in 2006.

However, wind power has been performing strongly in the US recently, according to this quarter’s report from the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) with more than 1400Mw of capacity installed in the first quarter of 2008, bringing total US wind power capacity to more than 18,000Mw.

Texas alone added more than half this new capacity and now has over 5,000Mw of installed capacity. Oil tycoon T Boone Pickens is investing $10bn in 4,000Mw of wind capacity across Texas over the next four years.