IEA: Global clean energy investment will top $1.4 trillion in 2022

Renew Economy:

The latest World Energy Investment report from the International Energy Agency reveals that clean energy investment is “finally” starting to rise again and is expected to exceed $US1.4 trillion in 2022, accounting for almost three-quarters of the total growth in overall energy investment.

Globally, world energy investment is expected to rise by over 8% in 2022, reaching $US2.4 trillion, significantly exceeding pre-COVID levels.

Unfortunately, almost half of the additional $US200 billion in capital investment in 2022 is expected to be consumed by higher costs rather than increasing additional clean energy supply capacity or savings. 

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has pushed up energy prices around the planet, impacting households, industries, and entire economies, particularly in the developing world where it can least be afforded – but also imposing on well-established economies such as the European Union. Clean energy technologies are also being affected, with the cost of solar panels and wind turbines up by between 10% and 20% since 2020, reversing a trend of years of cost decline.

Renewable power generation remains the core of all clean energy investments and, even though costs have risen in recent months for solar panels and wind turbines, both remain the cheapest option for new power generation in many countries – even before accounting for the high prices seen in 2022 for coal and gas. According to the IEA, renewables, grid, and storage now account for more than 80% of total power sector investment around the globe.

Unsurprisingly, solar PV accounts for almost half of new investment in renewable power, with spending divided equally between utility-scale solar projects and distributed solar PV systems. And the IEA also concludes that spending on solar PV, batteries, and electric vehicles is now growing at rates consistent with reaching global net zero emissions by 2050.

[Joshua S Hill]

More: Global clean energy investment “finally” starts to increase, says IEA