Page 8 - AsiaElec Week 31 2021

AsiaElec RENEWABLES AsiaElec

Strong public financing pushes

renewable investment to new high

GLOBAL NEW investment in renewable energy reached $78.9bn in the first half of 2021.
$174bn in the first half of 2021, 1.8% lower than Solar projects in China garnered $4.9bn in
in the first half of 2020, BloombergNEF (BNEF) 2Q 2021, up from $2.8bn in the first quarter.
said, as investment in renewables withstood the The increase was largely driven by major
effects of the global pandemic. financings of gigawatt-scale ‘subsidy-free’ pro-
Record public market financing and record jects developed by state-owned enterprises such
levels of venture capital and private equity com- as China Energy Investment Corp. and Huanghe
mitments drove the increase, which was the Hydropower, which must be commissioned this
highest ever for the first half of a year, although year.
it was 7% less than the high seen in the second Large-scale solar project investment in the
half of 2020. US climber to $6.4bn in 2Q 2021, from $5.3bn
Figures showed that investment in new in the first quarter, driven by a number of large
renewables projects fell, although this was offset projects closing.
by a rise in equity offerings of renewable energy Solar project investment often accelerates in
companies. the second half of the year to meet end-of-year
New equity raised on public markets hit a deadlines.
record high of $28.2bn in the first half of 2021, So-called ‘funds in circulation’, which
while venture capital and private equity commit- includes the refinancing of renewable energy
ments rose to $5.7bn. These were major contrib- projects, mergers, acquisitions and buyouts,
utors to the strong overall first half. totalled $68.3bn in 1H 2021, up almost 18% on
Drilling down into technology, solar was the a year earlier.
strongest performer, with investment in solar The first half saw the highest ever total for
projects up 9% year on year. equity raised on public markets by clean energy
Wind asset finance, however, fell y/y from a companies, outpacing the volumes raised in any
record high in the first half of 2020, while off- previous year.
shore wind financing atttained its peak. BloombergNEF said that a bullish market for
“Renewable energy investment has withstood renewable energy shares enabled many com-
the effects of the global pandemic, in contrast to panies to issue new shares to finance growth
other sectors of the energy economy, where we – though valuations are now down from their
have seen unprecedented volatility. However, highs at the start of the year.
a 1.8% y/y increase is nothing to write home Renewable energy and related companies
about. An immediate acceleration in funding raised a total of $28.2bn on public markets in the
is needed if we are to get on track for global net first half, up 509% from 1H 2020.
zero,” said Albert Cheung, head of analysis at Among the largest share offerings, Chinese
BloombergNEF. renewable energy generator China Three Gorges
Wind investment reached $58bn, similar to Renewables raised $3.5bn, PV manufacturer
2018 and 2019 levels but notably less than the Longi Green Energy Technology raised $2.4bn,
$85bn invested in the first half of 2020. and US fuel cell company Plug Power pulled in
During 2020 installations surged in China $2bn.
and the US in a bid to complete projects ahead Logan Goldie-Scot, head of clean power at
of subsidies contracting. BNEF, said: “As the energy transition acceler-
Investment in China, the world’s largest wind ates, investors are increasingly looking for ways
market, was robust at $21bn in the first half of to increase their portfolio exposure to renewable
2021, showing developers are continuing to energy and related areas, such as energy storage
build projects without feed-in premiums. and hydrogen. This record first half for clean
EMEA accounted for 36% of wind project energy fundraising underlines the strength of
investments. Europe had a strong first half, with appetite for sustainable investment opportuni-
Finland emerging as the top onshore market. ties aligned to a net-zero future.”
RWE’s Sofia Offshore Wind Farm achieved In January 2021, BNEF said in its Energy
financial close as one of the cheapest projects in Transition Investment Trends report that the
the UK, at $2.9mn per MW. world had invested more than $500bn in the
Investment in solar projects rose to a record energy transition in 2020.™

P8 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 31 04•August•2021