Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Renewable Electricity Investment Exceeds Fossil Fuel Plants

The historic energy transformation to renewable energy passed another global milestone in 2010.

Global investment in renewable energy power plants exceeded the amount invested in fossil fuel power plants during 2010, according to a November 25th Report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance. In fact substantially more was invested in renewable energy than fossil fuel power plants.  Last year, $187 billion were spent on building renewable energy power plants and $157 billion on fossil fuel plants.

This amazing transformation in global power plant investments from fossil fuels to renewables is not likely to reverse itself, with fossil fuel investments regaining its once normal domination over renewables. For example, the global wind industry built 38,000 megawatts in 2010 and will build 43,000 in 2011, and 48,000 megawatts in 2012. Up, up, up. More than a 25% rise in the annual amount built in three years.

The growing investment in renewable energy also starkly refutes the claims made by some that shale gas would stop renewable energy investment. Shale gas is displacing primarily coal and oil, but renewable installations are booming. Better still the renewables boom is fueling itself by driving down the costs of renewables and increasing the productivity of especially wind and solar equipment.

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