BNEF

Despite the climate-denying Trump Administration, Michael Liebreich gave plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the future in his address to the BNEF Future of Energy Summit.

BNEF cites financing for a massive solar plant in Mexico and Tesla’s billion-plus capital raise as running counter to the trend of falling clean energy financing during Q1. Investments in distributed solar also rose.

The latest Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2017 report by the UN Environment, Bloomberg New Energy Finance and the Frankfurt School-UNEP Collaborating Centre finds that while investment in clean energy fell last year, annual installations rose, revealing the cost-competitiveness of the sector.

Data from Bloomberg New Energy Finance reveals total of $834 million steered towards the global clean energy industry last year, marking the third consecutive annual increase.

The Japanese financial institution increased investments in clean energy and energy-smart technologies during an overall sector downturn in investment.

The PV Market Alliance has released its official solar installation figures for 2016, which, with a total of 75 GW installed, show a 50% growth from 2015, mainly driven by a mammoth year of installations in China, although the future would seem less auspicious as the two biggest markets show signs of retraction.

In their 10 predictions for 2017, Bloomberg New Energy Finance’s chair and chief editor argue that we are entering a phase where low-cost renewable energy will come to define the power system, despite ideological and financial headwinds.

The estimated 34 GW is far more than analysts had predicted, and nearly doubled the nation’s installed solar capacity.

While much of this decline is due to lower system costs, it was a difficult year for the solar industry despite a 20% growth in installation capacity.

2017 begins with yet more positive price reduction momentum, while Spain reveals details of its renewables auction and Comtec Solar and Longi agree to asset purchase.