Green energy investment tumbles sharply in the UK

Over the last 2 years investment in renewable energy in the UK has fallen by 56%, while worldwide spending rose by 3%. According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) who released their renewable energy report last week, this decline, to $10.3bn (£7.5bn) investment in the UK is the biggest fall of any country. China invested the most at $132.6bn and worldwide, solar attracted the largest chunk of investment, followed by wind.

The UK appears atypical in that its investment has declined sharply even though the cost of solar has fallen. Even in the USA where the Trump administration favours carbon based fuels there was a 1% increase in renewables investment. The overall rise in global renewables investments reflects the importance of renewables and investment cases that are able to give reasonable and stable returns.

Government’s role in creating an attractive investment environment cannot be over stated and BNEF believes that the UK government needs to clearly outline what it wants in this sector over the next 10 years.