Worldwide spending on renewable energy is in decline, perhaps the start of a long-term trend, according to a new report from Bloomberg NEF. The report found that “global investments in solar, wind, and other clean energy sources added up to $117.8 billion during the first half of 2019, a 14% decline from the same period last year and the lowest six-month figure since 2013.”
The biggest spending drop came in China, at 39%, which Bloomberg attributed to government policy to cut subsidies in order to control costs. U.S. renewables spending dropped 6%, and Europe saw at 4% decline. Bloomberg attributed both of those drops to phase out of subsidies and “weak demand for additional energy generation in mature markets.”
The spending slowdown began last year, noted MIT Technology Review in an article in May with the headline “Global renewables growth has stalled – and that’s terrible news.” The magazine identified the spending decline for 2018 and quoted Alex Trembath of the Breakthrough Institute, “It’s unclear whether last year was a blip as markets digested the loss of various subsidies and sought ways to mobilize private capital to ramp development back up, or the beginning of a long-term plateau in deployment.”
China also led the 2018 spending slowdown, with additions falling from 82 GW in 2017 to 77 GW last year, according to figures from the International Energy Agency, driven by a decline in new solar. India, on a big spending boom for wind and solar, saw a small 2018 decline from 15 GW to 14 GW.
China remains the big dog of renewables, noted Bloomberg, “by far the world’s biggest clean-energy spender with deals totaling $288 billion in the first half. Its decision to pull back subsidies was also the chief reason for a drop in global spending last year.” BNEF’s Asia-Pacific region chief Justin Wu said, “The slowdown in investment in China is real.”
— Kennedy Maize