9 January 2015: According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), China’s investments in renewable energy in 2014 increased by 32%, to US$89.5 billion, prompting a rise in global clean energy investment for the first time in three years. Investments in renewables also grew in the US and Japan, totaling US$51.8 billion and US$41.3 billion respectively. In Europe, which collectively accounted for the second largest investment, US$66 billion, investments only grew by 1% in 2014.

BNEF notes that China is currently the world’s largest market for solar power and among the biggest for wind, owing to support from the Government, which aims to diversify the national energy supply.

Globally, funding for wind and solar power, biofuels and other low-carbon energy technologies grew by 16% to US$310 billion. Nearly half of the investments went into solar energy, at US$149.6 billion, while wind energy attracted US$99.5 billion, driven by offshore projects. Investment in distributed power grew by 34%, to US$73.5 billion, reflecting a move away from large, centralized power stations.

While in 2014 it was “too early” for collapsing global oil prices to impact clean energy investments, those in biofuels fell by 7% in 2014. BNEF explains that overall, the negative effects of low oil prices will be more visible in the transport than electricity generation sector. However, since March 2014, a global index of 105 clean energy equities has fallen by nearly 19%, owing to the impacts of cheap oil on natural gas in the US and Asia. BNEF also expects electric vehicle (EV) sales to be at the forefront of negative impacts. [BNEF News Article]