April 1, 2015 at 19:14Alternative energy received $ 2 trillion of investment over the past 10 years
A report prepared by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the Frakfurt School of Finance and Management and Bloomberg said last year alone, investment in renewable energy (primarily solar installations and wind generators) amounted to about $ 270 billion, showing growth of 17% year on year. In total, since 2004 around the world about $ 2 trillion has been invested in alternative energy, leading China, the USA and Japan.
Based on the high cost of oil, on average, in 2014, renewable energy amounted to almost half of the new capacities commissioned, Unim director Achim Steiner says. According to the president of the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, Udo Stefens, a lower oil price will negatively impact investors only in energy exporting countries.
Forbes notes that if more recently (3-5 years ago) solar panels were very expensive and their installation often did not have economic feasibility, now the situation has changed a lot. Moreover, in 10 years, solar panels and power plants based on them can become the main and cheapest source of electricity, especially in countries with a large number of hours of sunshine per year.
Already, the kilowatt-hour of electricity generated by the sun in countries such as the UAE, Brazil and Uruguay are below 7 US cents. For comparison, now in Germany one kilowatt-hour received from a coal-fired power station is estimated at 9 cents, from a nuclear power plant - at 11 cents.
Based on the high cost of oil, on average, in 2014, renewable energy amounted to almost half of the new capacities commissioned, Unim director Achim Steiner says. According to the president of the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, Udo Stefens, a lower oil price will negatively impact investors only in energy exporting countries.
Oil and renewable energy are not direct competitors for investment. As the cost of installing solar and wind power plants decreases, investors are more concerned about the cost of a megawatt hour.Last year, China became the leader in investments in renewable energy sources with investments in the amount of $ 88.3 billion, the United States - $ 38.3 billion and Japan with $ 35.7 billion. 92% of the total investment falls on solar and wind power plants.
Forbes notes that if more recently (3-5 years ago) solar panels were very expensive and their installation often did not have economic feasibility, now the situation has changed a lot. Moreover, in 10 years, solar panels and power plants based on them can become the main and cheapest source of electricity, especially in countries with a large number of hours of sunshine per year.
Already, the kilowatt-hour of electricity generated by the sun in countries such as the UAE, Brazil and Uruguay are below 7 US cents. For comparison, now in Germany one kilowatt-hour received from a coal-fired power station is estimated at 9 cents, from a nuclear power plant - at 11 cents.