Record-breaking clean energy investment overtakes fossil fuel spending
Jorge Ferreiro
Senior hydrogen and derivatives analyst, specializing in the role of hydrogen in the energy transition
Last year spending in the electricity sector overtook investment in the fossil fuel industry for the ?rst time ever, according to the IEA's recently-released World Energy Investment 2017 report.
Capital investment in global oil and gas supply fell by 38% between 2014 and 2016, the IEA said, but still comprises around 40% of the total. On the other hand, spending on low-carbon energy supply, including electricity networks, reached a record 43% of the total spend last year. This is a rise of 12% from 2014 levels.
"The biggest area of power generation investment is renewable, low-carbon generation," said IEA chief economist Laszlo Varro. "Wind and solar power have been doing very, very well and 2016 was a record year. We can expect 200 TWh of electricity from the wind and solar investment [made] in 2016."
You may download the Executive Summary here