Green energy looking breezy and sunny

There was a 32% rise in green energy investments worldwide last year according to the latest annual report on renewable energy investment trends issued by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). Wind farms in China and small-scale solar panels on rooftops in Europe were largely responsible for this. Investors pumped a record $211 billion into renewables -- about one-third more than the $160 billion invested in 2009, and a 540% rise since 2004.

For the first time, developing economies overtook developed ones in terms of "financial new investment"--spending on utility-scale renewable energy projects and provision of equity capital for renewable energy companies. on this measure, $72 billion was invested in developing countries vs. $70 billion in developed economies.

The report, Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2011, has been prepared for UNEP by London-based Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

"The continuing growth in this core segment of the Green Economy is not happening by chance. The combination of government target-setting, policy support and stimulus funds is underpinning the renewable industry's rise and bringing the much needed transformation of our global energy system within reach," Said UNEP director Achim Steiner.

The price of PV modules per megawatt has fallen 60% since mid-2008, making solar power far more competitive in a number of sunny countries. By the end of 2010, many countries were rushing to make their PV tariffs less generous.

Nevertheless the small-scale solar market is likely to stay strong in 2011, the report suggests. Further drops in costs for solar, wind and other technologies lie ahead, the report says, posing a growing threat to the dominance of fossil-fuel generation sources in the next few years.

Throughout the last decade, wind was the most mature renewable energy technology and enjoyed an apparently unassailable lead over its rival power sources.Wind turbine prices have fallen 18% per megawatt in the last two years, reflecting, as with solar, fierce competition in the supply chain. In 2010, wind continued to dominate in terms of financial new investment in large scale renewables, with $94.7 billion (up 30% from 2009). However, when investments in small scale projects are added in solar is catching up, with $86 billion in 2010, up 52% on the previous year.

The sharpest percentage jumps in overall investment were seen in small-scale projects -- up 91% year-on-year at $60 billion, and in government-funded research and development, up 121% at $5.3 billion, as more of the "green stimulus" funds promised after the financial crisis arrived in the sector.