2 October 2014: According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), over the first nine months of 2014, global investments in clean energy were 16% higher than during the same period in 2013. Total clean energy investments in this period reached US$175 billion. Investments in the third quarter of 2014 were similarly higher than in the previous year, driven in part by record-high investments in solar energy in China and Japan.

Investment in clean energy in 2014 is likely to see growth after two years of decline, according to BNEF estimates. During the third quarter, investments totalled US$55 billion, of which US$12.2 billion were in China and US$8.6 billion in Japan. BNEF expects solar power generating capacity in China to reach a total of 13-14 GW by the end of 2014, prompted by the ongoing construction a large number of grid-connected large-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) installations. In Japan, solar energy was also the main target of investments. Other countries demonstrating an increase were Canada, France and India. In terms of regional trends, investments in Europe reached an eight-year low in the third quarter.

Major financing agreements made from July to September 2014 include: US$1.1 billion for a 231 MW PV project in Japan; US$850 million for the second phase of a 530 MW PV plant in China; and US$642 for a 60 MW waste-to-energy plant in Ireland.

BNEF expects a larger number of countries and technologies to attract investment in clean energy in the fourth quarter, which is usually the busiest for the sector. However, the company warned there was “no room for complacency,” as current levels of investments are not sufficient to transform the global power system rapidly enough to produce a peak in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions around 2020. According to BNEF, policy instability is still a major factor holding back investor confidence. [BNEF Press Release]