Global clean energy investment plummets to 2013 levels
Energy
Global clean energy investment tumbled in the first half of 2019, driven by a 39 per cent drop in the world’s largest market, China.
US and Europe also fell by a relatively modest 6 per cent and 4 per cent, respectively.
Compared to the same period last year, overall global investment was down 14 per cent to $US117.6 billion ($168.5 billion) — the lowest figure for any half-year period since 2013, says Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF).
Justin Wu, head of Asia-Pacific for BNEF, says while the slowdown in China is real, the figures probably overstate its severity.
“We expect a nationwide solar auction happening now to lead to a rush of new PV [photovoltaic] project financings [in China],” Wu says.
“We could also see several big deals in offshore wind in the second half.”
This pullback was tempered by a couple of massive deals, including a world-record $US4.2 billion 950MW solar thermal and photovoltaic complex in Dubai, as well as two offshore wind arrays (640MW and 900MW) in the sea off Taiwan worth a combined $US5.7 billion.
Money also continues to flow into electric vehicles, BNEF says.
Investment in publicly listed specialist clean energy companies jumped 37 per cent to $US5.6 billion for the half, boosted by two big equity raisings for EV makers Tesla ($US863m) and China-based NIO ($US650m).
Venture capital and private equity funding was down 2 per cent to $US4.7 billion, with three exceptionally large deals — a collective $US2.7 billion for EV-facing companies Northvolt, Lucid Motors, and Rivian — taking the lion’s share.