Solar power has bright future

‘Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2012’ is the fifth edition of the UNEP report based on data from Bloomberg New Energy Finance, and has become the standard reference for global clean energy investment figures.

It states that despite an increasingly tough competitive landscape for manufacturers, total investment in renewable power and fuels in 2011 increased by 17 percent to a record $257 billion, a six-fold increase on the 2004 figure. The increase was 94 percent higher than the total in 2007, the year before the world financial crisis, it said.

“Although last year’s 17 percent increase was significantly smaller than the 37 percent growth recorded in 2010, it was achieved at a time of rapidly falling prices for renewable energy equipment and severe pressure on fiscal budgets in the developed world,” it observed.

The REN21 Renewables 2012 Global Status Report, which has become the most frequently referenced report on renewable energy market, industry and policy developments, notes that during 2011, renewables continued to grow strongly in all end-use sectors (power, heating and cooling and transport).

Renewable sources have grown to supply 16.7 percent of global energy consumption; of that, the share provided by traditional biomass has declined slightly while the share sourced from modern renewable technologies has risen. According to this report, in 2011, renewable energy technologies continued to expand into new markets: around 50 countries installed wind power capacity, and solar photovaoltaic capacity moved rapidly into new regions and countries.

www.ren21.net/