Investment Opportunities In Renewable Energy

The following is a guest blog post:

The worldwide solar industry is alive and well. As one of the simplest forms of electricity generation, the growth in solar energy has been nothing short of phenomenal. In Asia-Pacific, the UK and across Europe, the solar market has started to mature. This has led to some significant changes in the industry, notably a secondary market for alternative investments related to the solar industry. In other continents, the solar industry is only beginning to take root. Latin America, Asia and Africa are now rapidly growing markets. The solar industry gained traction in the early 2000s, with Spain, Germany, Italy and Asia-Pacific adopting the technology early on. China was close in tow, but Africa was slow on the uptake and comprised only a small percentage of global growth.

Global Trends in Renewable Energy

According to the United Nations Environment Programme Collaborating Centre report, commissioned by the Frankfurt School, renewable energy achieved record levels in 2015 in terms of dollar investment. Additionally, a large volume of new capacity was added. What is particularly notable about this is that developing countries such as South Africa, Nigeria, Botswana, Argentina, Brazil and others are increasingly important in the net growth rate taking place. In 2015, capital funds committed to renewable energy sources increased to $285.9 billion, up 5%. The previous record was set in 2011 of $278.5 billion.

The Global Trends in Renewable Energy report was particularly significant in that these record levels were achieved in spite of depreciating dollar investments across currency zones. Additionally, the Chinese economic slowdown had a negative impact on commodities prices towards the end of 2015 and into 2016. The prices of crude oil, natural gas and coal all headed south. Renewable energy sources such as hydroelectric power comprised 53.6% of all GW capacity of technologies that were installed during 2015. In 2010, the amount of solar-powered energy amounted to 50 GW, but now it is 300 GW+.