Global renewables investment to triple this decade - U.N.

(Reuters News, 5 Sep 2019) By the end of 2019, there will be more solar capacity installed this decade than any other power generation technology, says report.

Global investment in new capacity for renewable energy is on course to reach $2.6 trillion by the end of this decade, more than triple the amount of the previous decade, a report commissioned by the U.N. Environment Programme says.

The figure excludes large hydropower projects and is equivalent to 1.2 terawatts (TW) of new renewable energy capacity this decade. That's more than today's entire U.S. electricity generation units and half of the 2.4 TW of total power capacity installed over the same period.

The increase stems from a fall in interest rates in major economies and a slump in costs, with the "levelised" cost of solar photovoltaics down 81%, onshore wind down 46% and offshore wind down 44% this decade.

The levelised figure is the cost of generating a megawatt hour of electricity; the upfront capital and development cost; the cost of equity and debt finance and operating and maintenance fees.

The biggest investing country during the decade is set to be China, which committed $758 billion between 2010 and mid-2019. Over the same period, Europe invested $698 billion and the United States spent $356 billion, the report said.

Solar power has attracted the most investment this decade at $1.3 trillion. By the end of this year, there will be more solar capacity installed this decade - 638 gigawatts (GW) - than any other power generation technology.

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Reuters News, 5 Sep 2019: Global renewables investment to triple this decade - U.N.