Nathaniel Bullard is Director of /images/default-source/content at Bloomberg New Energy Finance, the clean energy and carbon markets analysis group of Bloomberg LP. In his role he oversees analytical engagements across sectors in clean energy, as well as the group's executive engagements through its Leadership Forum Series and yearly Summit. He can be reached at nbullard@bloomberg.net and on Twitter@SolarConstant.
Clean energy is one of the great economic growth stories of first years of the 21st century. Eight years ago Bloomberg New Energy Finance tracked only US$53 billion in total investment in clean energy. Last year we tracked US$280 billion, more than five times as much. So far, clean energy has defied financial crises and has never had a down year in total dollars invested, even as costs for wind turbines and solar panels have dropped markedly in the past decade.
Clean energy investment has defied economic downturns and regional unrest since the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008. And last year, just around the time of the Singapore International Energy Week 2011, we passed a noteworthy milestone: The trillionth dollar invested in clean energy since its "modern" era began with the introduction of Germany's feed-in tariff programs in 2004.
A few global numbers stand out from last year's US$280 billion in total investment:
- The US and China are not only the two largest energy consumers in the world, but in 2011 were also the two largest investors in clean energy with more than US$50 billion each invested in wind, solar, bioenergy, and clean technologies.
- Total investment in solar power increased 52 percent, to US$147 billion--more than was invested in all of clean energy just four years earlier.
- And renewable power (excluding large hydro) was 44 percent of all new energy generation capacity additions in 2011, four times more than in 2004.
While the bulk of investment in 2011 came from the US and China, Asia is now the one to watch for clean energy's continued development. Last year, the fastest-growing clean energy market was India--which grew 62 percent to US$12 billion. China, in contrast, grew only 18 percent. India also financed more large-scale assets such as wind and solar parks than any country except the US or China.
And while India is Asia's newly purring clean energy tiger, other countries saw their own meaningful advances. Indonesia initiated its "Thousand Islands" plan to electrify remote locations without reliable electricity. The Philippines continued its plans to become a geothermal energy powerhouse in the Pacific Rim. Thailand built dozens of major solar parks and wind farms. In Manila and Singapore, municipal authorities began deploying innovative floating solar systems at wastewater treatment plants and reservoirs.
As we watched the last few million dollars in capital flow into projects and technologies, we saw not justhowthe capital was being deployed, butwhere.In tracking those final few projects, we saw solar and wind and biomass projects breaking ground in countries across Asia where we had not previously tracked any investments. Eight years after the first clean energy dollar went into a German solar project, capital is now flowing to countries which need new energy sources. Clean energy in Asia looks bright in the coming years.
This is the first in a series of posts which Bloomberg New Energy Finance will contribute to the Singapore International Energy Week 2012. Each will focus on a different aspect of Asian clean energy, from Australia's power sector transformation to India's grid issues, to Asian interest in European offshore wind. We hope you enjoy reading.
BY: Nathaniel Bullard, Bloomberg New Energy Finance