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Wire & Cable ASIA – July/August 2014
Industrynews
ANALYSTS at Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) have
observed a 10 per cent increase in clean energy investment
in the first quarter of 2014.
The increase is believed to be due to a sharp rise in
household solar systems in the US and Japan. The falling
cost of solar units is thought to have prompted a 42 per
cent leap in Japanese and US households buying
photovoltaic systems, representing investments of $21.2
billion.
A total of $47.7 billion was invested in clean energy projects
during the first quarter, compared with $43.6 billion in the
first three months of 2013. The same period also saw the
expansion of clean energy investments to emerging
economies, with Indonesia and Kenya recording two of the
top four asset finance deals.
Michael Liebreich, BNEF chairman, said: “It is too early to
say definitively that 2013 was the low point for clean energy
investment worldwide and that 2014 will show a rebound,
but the first-quarter numbers are encouraging.”
Elsewhere in the world, China’s investment rose 18 per cent,
and after a difficult 2013 Brazil’s investment increased by
211 per cent. The Middle East and Africa managed an 82
per cent increase, but investment in Europe fell 30 per cent
compared to first quarter 2013.
Overall, the figures suggest a possible upturn for a market
that has struggled since 2011. Investment in renewable
energy technologies fell 11 per cent in 2013, after falling 10
per cent in 2012.
Bloomberg New Energy Finance – USA
Website:
Investments see solar surge
❍ Solar Energy Systems installed this solar PV rooftop system in
New York City. Photograph courtesy of Aeon