A “lull” in wind investment in Europe and sharp slowdowns in spending in China and Japan are behind the global clean energy industry’s worst quarter in three years, Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) reports.
According to Bloomberg, “investment in renewable energy and smart energy technologies totalled US$42.2 billion in the third quarter,” Reuters writes, “down 31% from the previous quarter and down 43% from the third quarter of 2015.”
- Be among the first to read The Energy Mix Weekender
- A brand new weekly digest containing exclusive and essential climate stories from around the world.
- The Weekender:The climate news you need.
“These numbers are worryingly low, even compared to the subdued trend we saw in Q1 and Q2,” Michael Liebreich, who chairs BNEF’s advisory board, said in releasing the data.
Utility financing of large renewable projects fell by nearly half from 2015, to US$28.8 billion in Q3, as demand for electricity failed to keep up with expectations in many countries, Reuters says.
Asset financing of utility-scale renewable energy projects fell 49% year-on-year, to $28.8 billion in the third quarter. As well, the outlet adds, “Chinese investment fell by 51% compared with the third quarter last year, to $14.4 billion, and Japan’s investment was 56% lower, at $3.5 billion.”
