Investment in small-scale solar during the second quarter of 2015 was up 29% on the previous year, going against a ‘lag’ in investments in clean energy globally, according to new Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) figures.
In Q2, investment in green energy resources globally was US$53 billion, down 3% from Q1, but down 28% compared to Q2 2014 (US$73.6 billion).
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Small-scale solar, described as a “bright spot” by BNEF, had US$20 billion investment in Q2 this year, up 29% on Q2 2014. Meanwhile solar projects under 1MW are on course for a record year.
BNEF said this was due to countries such as Japan, China and the US and other developing countries taking action on the improved economics of rooftop PV.
Chile's US$1.3 billion of investment in wind and solar, was also highlighted because this is the most investment the country has seen in renewable energies in any quarter to date.
However, BNEF said overall global investments in clean energy had faced “headwinds” from financial markets after a sharp rise in the US currency, which reduced the dollar value of deals made in other countries.
Meanwhile volatile share prices, especially in China, stumped renewable energy companies from raising equity.
Michael Liebreich, chairman of the BNEF advisory board, said that despite Q1 and Q2 figures being down 18% on the previous year when combined, there is scope for the figures to be revised up as more deals are disclosed.
He added: “In the medium term, we expect investment to resume its strong growth. Our New Energy Outlook 2015, published in June, forecast that two thirds of the US$12.2 trillion investment in generating capacity globally between now and 2040 will be in renewables, as costs per MWh for solar and wind grind downwards.”
China contributed the most investment in clean energy at US$15.5 billion, which was 14% higher than Q1, but 36% down on the previous year. Solar made up US$6.4 billion of the Chinese total, of which one third was in small-scale projects and two thirds in utility-scale.
The US had US$9.4 billion of investment in clean energy, down 4% on Q1, and down 21% on the previous year.
Japan and Germany were both down on Q2 in 2014, however the UK was level with the previous year, while Chile was up 40% on Q2 the previous year.
The 294MW Silver State South PV plant in Nevada, in the US, was cited as one the three biggest renewable energy investments at an estimated US$744 million.
Venture capital and private equity investment in specialised clean energy companies totalled US$564 million, down 31% from Q1, and down 60% from Q2 2014.
Luke Mills, BNEF clean energy economics analyst, said: “The low venture capital, private equity total reflects the fact that technologies such as wind and PV are now far more mature, and less open to challenge from young companies. However, there is a great deal of early-stage investor interest still in other areas such as power storage and home energy management that could translate into more deals if the wider markets settled down.”
