January 2011 - Investments in renewables are growing around the world, having reached $243 billion in 2010. This is stated in the latest Bloomberg New Energy Finance report, which offers a detailed geographical analysis of financial flows and sectors they fund. According to General Manager of the Agency Michael Liebreich, this is a “spectacular result”, given that the growth in clean energy investments is five times as much compared to 2004, twice as much compared to 2006, and over 30% compared to 2009. At the same time, funding for research and the development of new technology has increased from 15.8 billion dollars in 2009, to 21 billion last year, which is a record itself.
According to the report, a significant contribution to the growth also came from the installation of photovoltaic panels on rooftops and other small systems especially in Germany, but also in the United States, the Czech Republic and Italy. Investments in small power plants aimed at distributed energy production have grown by 91% in one year, to reach a total of 59.6 billion dollars.
When it comes to green energy, the world is apparently in ferment. Within the sector, Enel Green Power is a confirmed absolute leader. Speaking of investments, on December 10, 2010 EGP signed an agreement with the European Investment Bank, under which the latter will grant EGP a loan of 440 million euros (that may be increased up to 600 million, and with an interest rate much lower compared to the market rate), to help finance EGP’s plan to expand its operations in Italy.
