Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment

I believe it is wise from an environmental and economic viewpoint to invest in renewable energy projects. I believe the costs of fossil fuel based energy will continue to increase. Renewable energy is continuing to improve and when considering the negative externalities caused by oil, gas and coal and the continuing improvement in wind, solar and geothermal generation investment in renewable energy are going to payoff well for countries.

The development of low-carbon energy is progressing too slowly to limit global warming, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Wednesday. With power generation still dominated by coal and governments failing to increase investment in clean energy, top climate scientists have said that the target of keeping the global temperature rise to less than 2 degrees Celsius this century is slipping out of reach.

While the solar industry is going through something of a rough patch in the United States, the sun still shines in other parts of the world – a strong indication that better days are ahead for this vital source of clean power.   Germany’s Solar Boom  

The economics of solar energy make sense today. The main stumbling block is financing the initial purchase (for homeowners, businesses or utilities). For new power generation solar is economically competitive in many locations today and prices continue to decline. One aspect that has harmed financing is the historical depreciation has been high (assuming a short lifespan of solar panels) but the panels now have much longer lifespans, meaning that when computing the return of solar investments you can expect a longer payback period.

China, forecast to become the biggest solar market this year, may restructure its subsidies to favor smaller projects over larger ones to promote new plants in in areas with power shortages, an industry official said.

George Fisher submits: Algonquin Power and Utilities (AQUNF.PK) is a small-cap Canadian electric generation company focused on renewable, clean power and water utilities. The company manages a billion dollars in utility assets in the US and Canada. AQN in the process of transforming itself from a Canadian income unit trust to a growth oriented cross-border utility.

What do the U.S., Italy, Spain, France, Bulgaria, India and Greece have in common? Apart from suffering (to varying degrees) the continued effects of the global financial crisis, all are countries in which privately held Silver Ridge Power Inc. has operations. And that’s noteworthy because Silver Ridge intends to raise about $175-million by way of an initial public offering from Canadian investors.

The world must spend an extra US$700-billion a year to curb its addiction to fossil fuels blamed for worsening floods and heat waves and rising sea levels, a study issued by the World Economic Forum (WEF) showed on Monday. As government and business leaders prepare to meet at the forum in Davos, Switzerland this week, the world’s nations are divided over who should pay for lowering emissions of greenhouse gases blamed for a growing number of extreme weather events.