
According to the Global Trends in Sustainable Energy Investment 2009 report released by the United Nations Environment Programme, clean energy companies received $155 billion in investments in 2008, four times as much as in 2004.
That's the good news. The not so good news is that with the economic downturn, that upward trend has decreased in recent months. Investments in the second half of 2008 were down by 17 percent compared to the first half and down 23 percent compared to the last half of 2007. Clean energy investments in 2008 still topped 2007 overall though.
Some of the finer points of the report include:
- Wind had the highest investment in 2008 at $51.8 billion.
- Solar grew the most in new investments with $33.5 billion, a 49 percent increase over 2007.
- Geothermal investments (new and continuing) grew the most in 2008 with an increase of 149 percent.
- Biofuel investments decreased by 9 percent to $16.9 billion.
- Wind and solar costs are dropping because of the surge of investments and increase in production. Solar PV modules are expected to drop in cost by 49 percent this year.
- Developing countries are leading the pack in investment growth with a 27 percent increase over 2007, while Europe and North America saw stalling investments in 2008.
- Government packages are crucial to continued growth in clean energy investment as annual investments need to reach half a trillion dollars by 2020 to meet the recommendations of the IPCC.
You can access the full report here.
via Live Science
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Comments (11)

written by chi flat irons, June 06, 2009
I feel like time is going incredibly fast and slow at the same time. The weeks/months seem to be crawling...but at the same time, I turn around on Monday and suddenly it is Sunday again
written by bill, June 06, 2009
Key statistic from report: 41% of new generating capacity was renewable.
written by solargroupies, June 06, 2009
Make no mistake about it, increasing renewables is a promising trend. Saying renewable energy has quadrupled since 2004 is a tiny bit disingenuous. Increasing from a pittance on global spending always sounds impressive. Wouldn't it be need if we were spending tens of trillions of dollars instead of spending that much on wars over the past decade?
written by silk road, June 07, 2009
http://www.cctv.com/program/ne...3826.shtml
China turns to wind power
2009-06-07 16:17 BJT
WATCH VIDEO
Mail | Share | Print | Text: A A A
China is now the world's 4th largest wind power generator, after an annual capacity growth of over 100 percent for the past few years. The world's second biggest economy plans to double its wind power capacity again by 2010.
The Silk Road, ancient China's most important trade route. Now the rich wind resources here are taking the country to a greener future.
A ten-million-kilowatt wind power station is under construction, the country's first of such scale.
China is now the world's 4th largest wind power generator, after an annual
capacity growth of over 100 percent for the past few years.
Its capacity matches that of the Three Gorges Dam, the largest hydropower project in the world.
Tian Shicun, Deputy Gm Of China Longyuan Electric Power Group, said, "There are just a few million-kilowatt level wind power stations in the world, and we are one of them. This project shows our country's ambitious plan to develop renewable energy."
China Longyuan Electric Power Group accounts for a quarter of the nation's power capacity. It plans to boost capacity to 6 million kilowatts by next year and 20 million kilowatts by 2020.
The development of wind power will reduce China's dependence on coal. Coal now accounts for 70 percent of the nation's power.
In ten years, China's wind power capacity will exceed 100 million kilowatts, five times that of the Three Gorges Dam. And that will reduce CO2 emissions by 230 million tons.
Ma Xuelu, Vice Chairman of China Wind Power Assoc., said, "Many provinces are very active in building wind power stations. Six provinces plan to build a 10- million kilowatt station. That is China's important move to tackle global warming."
China enacted its first Renewable Energy Act in 2006. A series of policies were adopted to encourage wind power development. The speed of that development has surpassed its economic growth by far.
Editor: Shi Taoyang | Source: CCTV.com
China turns to wind power
2009-06-07 16:17 BJT
WATCH VIDEO
Mail | Share | Print | Text: A A A
China is now the world's 4th largest wind power generator, after an annual capacity growth of over 100 percent for the past few years. The world's second biggest economy plans to double its wind power capacity again by 2010.
The Silk Road, ancient China's most important trade route. Now the rich wind resources here are taking the country to a greener future.
A ten-million-kilowatt wind power station is under construction, the country's first of such scale.
China is now the world's 4th largest wind power generator, after an annual
capacity growth of over 100 percent for the past few years.
Its capacity matches that of the Three Gorges Dam, the largest hydropower project in the world.
Tian Shicun, Deputy Gm Of China Longyuan Electric Power Group, said, "There are just a few million-kilowatt level wind power stations in the world, and we are one of them. This project shows our country's ambitious plan to develop renewable energy."
China Longyuan Electric Power Group accounts for a quarter of the nation's power capacity. It plans to boost capacity to 6 million kilowatts by next year and 20 million kilowatts by 2020.
The development of wind power will reduce China's dependence on coal. Coal now accounts for 70 percent of the nation's power.
In ten years, China's wind power capacity will exceed 100 million kilowatts, five times that of the Three Gorges Dam. And that will reduce CO2 emissions by 230 million tons.
Ma Xuelu, Vice Chairman of China Wind Power Assoc., said, "Many provinces are very active in building wind power stations. Six provinces plan to build a 10- million kilowatt station. That is China's important move to tackle global warming."
China enacted its first Renewable Energy Act in 2006. A series of policies were adopted to encourage wind power development. The speed of that development has surpassed its economic growth by far.
Editor: Shi Taoyang | Source: CCTV.com
written by Nishi, June 08, 2009
Agree wid ur post... very well written n impress too.
Kp up the good wrk!
Kp up the good wrk!
written by supra shoes, July 14, 2009
good.........Thank you very much. I am wonderring if I can share your article in the bookmarks of society,Then more friends can talk about this problem.
written by Fred, July 20, 2009
hopefully this trend will go faster and pick up more in the years to comes
written by chi flat iron, September 28, 2009
That seems an almost impossible question to answer. Both the chi flat iron and the chi hair straighteners get an average rating of about 4 out of 5. Each seems to have loyal and happy customers and there seems to be very few owners of one flat iron who switch over to the other.
written by Nightfall Ugg Boots, September 29, 2009
When cleaning your Ugg Boots at home, there are a few simple steps to follow. First, very lightly dampen the outside of the boot with some cold water and a soft cloth. Be careful to not fully immerse them in water, that won’t work nearly as well. Not only will the lining become totally soaking wet, it will become misshapen.
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