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ePaper created 2014-06-03, 15:03:20 | version 1.30.01
67 03 RENEWABLES 2014 GLOBAL STATUS REPORT 3 03 INVESTMENT FLOWS Global new investment in renewable power and fuels (not including hydropower projects >50 MW) was USD 214.4 billion in 2013, as estimated by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF).i This was down 14% relative to 2012, and 23% lower than the record level in 2011. (See Figure 23.) Including the unreported investments in hydropower projects larger than 50 MW, total new investment in renewable power and fuels was at least USD 249.4 billion in 2013.ii Note that these estimates do not include investment in renewable heating and cooling technologies. The second consecutive year of decline in investment—after several years of growth—was due in part to uncertainty over incentive policies in Europe and the United States, and to retroactive reductions in support in some countries. Europe’s investment was down 44% from 2012, and, for the first time ever, China alone invested more in renewable energy than all of Europe combined. The year 2013 also saw an interruption to the eight consecutive years of rising renewable energy investment in developing countries. Yet the global decline also resulted from sharp reductions in technology costs. This was particularly true for solar PV, which saw record new installations in 2013, despite a 22% decline in dollars invested. Lower costs and efficiency improvements made it possible to build onshore wind and solar PV installations in several locations around the world in 2013 without subsidy support, particularly in Latin America. Considering only net investment in new power capacity, renewables outpaced fossil fuels for the fourth year running. Further, despite the overall downward trend in world investment, there were significant exceptions at the country level. The most notablewasJapan,whererenewableenergyinvestment(excluding R&D) increased by 80% relative to 2012. Other countries that increased their investment in 2013 included Canada, Chile, Israel, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Uruguay. ■■ INVESTMENT BY ECONOMY Developing and developed countries alike saw reductions in renewable energy investments in 2013. Developing country investments fell for the first time since tracking began in 2004. Their outlays of USD 93 billion were down 14% from the record investment made in 2012, and just above the 2011 level. This compares with USD 122 billion in developed countries, the lowest investment level in the past four years. China accounted for 61% of developing-country investment in renewables in 2013, up from 55% in 2012. Most regions of the world experienced reductions in investment relative to 2012. The exceptions were the Americas, excluding the United States and Brazil (both of which saw reductions), i - This section is derived from Frankfurt School–UNEP Collaborating Centre for Climate & Sustainable Energy Finance (FS-UNEP) and Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2014 (Frankfurt: 2014), the sister publication to the GSR. Data are based on the output of the Desktop database of BNEF, unless otherwise noted, and reflect the timing of investment decisions. The following renewable energy projects are included: all biomass, geothermal, and wind generation projects of more than 1 MW; all hydro projects of between 1 and 50 MW; all solar power projects, with those less than 1 MW estimated separately and referred to as small-scale projects or small distributed capacity; all ocean energy projects; and all biofuel projects with an annual production capacity of 1 million litres or more. For more information, please refer to the FS-UNEP/BNEF Global Trends report. Where totals do not add up, the difference is due to rounding. ii - Investment in large hydropower (>50 MW) is not included in the overall total for investment in renewable energy. BNEF tracks only hydropower projects of between 1 MW and 50 MW. 8 World Total Developed Countries Developing Countries 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Figure 23. Global New Investment in Renewable Power and Fuels, Developed and Developing Countries, 2004–2013 300 250 200 150 100 50 40 65 100 146 171 168 227 279 250 Billion USD Does not include investment in hydropower > 50 MW World Total 214 billion USD 103 43 25 49 32 74 16 153 106 113 74 63 58 187 142 92 107 122 93 Figure 23. Global New Investment in Renewable Power and Fuels, Developed and Developing Countries, 2004–2013 Source: See Footnotes i and ii for this section.