Clean Energy Investment Not Immune From Financial Crisis

The global financial crisis has taken its toll on clean energy investment.  Nevertheless, the medium and long term outlook for clean energy investment remain extremely bright.

According to U.K.-based New Energy Finance, a global leader in analysis about carbon markets and clean energy technology, "Investment in clean energy has collapsed to just $13.3 billion in the first quarter of 2009, down by no less than 44% on the fourth quarter of last year and 53% below the level achieved in the first quarter of 2008."  Meanwhile, over $150 billion of economic stimulus funding targeted to clean energy has not fully begun to flow into the market.

According to the firm's report, "The biggest single element in clean energy investment is asset finance of new-build projects such as wind farms, solar parks and biofuel plants.  This amounted to just under $11.5 billion in the first three months of 2009, down 44% from the fourth quarter of 2008 and half the figure for the first quarter of 2008."

On the other hand, Michael Liebreich, chairman and CEO of New Energy Finance, said, "The medium-term and long-term outlook for clean energy is strong, given the imperatives for G20 economies to curb carbon emissions and improve energy security.  We forecast that on current policies, annual investment in the sector will return to growth in due course and reach $350 billion by 2020."