There was an increase in renewable energy investment capacity globally to US$282.2 billion in 2019, according to new figures from BloombergNEF (BNEF). That is a jump of $2 billion, or 1%, on the previous year. An upturn BNEF attributes in part to a recent surge in offshore wind investment. While down 8% to $83.4 billion on 2018, China continues to lead the way, with the American market, the second strongest, soaring 28% to $55.5 billion.
“It’s notable that in this third year of the Trump presidency, which has not been particularly supportive of renewables, U.S. clean energy investment set a new record by a country mile,” said Ethan Zindler, head of Americas for BNEF, noting that the second-highest year for investment ($45.7 billion) came in Trump’s first year, 2017. “These technologies are more cost-competitive than ever, and the fact that there was a tax credit step-down on the horizon made the market particularly busy in 2019.”
More on the report…
