Clean Energy Investments Higher Than Previously Estimated

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--New investment in clean energy slipped back in 2009 compared to the peak level achieved in 2008, as stated by Bloomberg New Energy Finance in its estimates published in early January this year. However, the absolute dollar figures have today been revised upwards, to $162bn for 2009 and $173bn for 2008. The change reflects methodological improvements carried out over recent weeks by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, the world’s leading provider of news, data and analysis to decision-makers in clean energy and carbon markets.

The new numbers were unveiled today at the Bloomberg New Energy Finance Summit, a three-day conference at the InterContinental London Park Lane Hotel. The invitation-only event, from Wednesday, March 17 to Friday, March 19, brings together 300 senior energy sector executives, investors and policymakers from around the world.

The alterations to the figures reflect a number of methodological improvements carried out by Bloomberg New Energy Finance’s team in London, Cape Town, Washington and Beijing over recent weeks. In particular, the new data include a fresh way of accounting for bridge finance and construction debt on projects such as wind farms, solar parks and biofuel plants. They also incorporate a comprehensive review from the bottom up of the level of corporate research, development and deployment in clean energy, revealing higher totals than previously estimated. The team has been able to draw upon the data resources of Bloomberg LP, in achieving these improvements.

The changes published today revise the total new investment in clean energy in 2009 upwards to $162bn from the previously stated $145bn. The 2008 figure is revised up from $155bn to $173bn, and the 2007 number from $148bn to $157bn. The trend in investment activity, however, remains unchanged: annual new investment grew more than threefold from 2004 to 2007, increased a bit further to a peak in 2008, and then slipped back modestly in 2009 as the recession left its imprint on the sector.

Michael Liebreich, chief executive of Bloomberg New Energy Finance, said: “A lot of hard work has been done on the data in the first three months of 2010. We believe that the end-result is a set of statistics that is a more comprehensive record of global investment in clean energy over the past few years, and hence even more robust as tool on which policy and investment decisions can be made.

“The 6.6% dip in clean energy investment between 2008 and 2009 – which we identified at the end of last year – shows the effect of the credit crunch on the availability of debt for projects and the impact of the stock market downturn on IPOs, The setback would have been a lot more significant but for record clean energy investment in China and a pick-up in project finance in Europe and the Americas in the second half of last year, driven by the first installments of stimulus funding.”

A full set of revised Bloomberg New Energy Finance clean energy investment numbers, showing the breakdown for asset finance, public markets, venture capital and private equity, research and development, and small-scale projects, is available in a fact pack presentation downloadable from the “Free Publications/Presentations” section of www.newenergyfinance.com.

ABOUT BLOOMBERG NEW ENERGY FINANCE

Bloomberg New Energy Finance is the world’s leading independent provider of news, data, research and analysis to decision-makers in renewable energy, carbon markets, energy smart technologies, carbon capture and storage, and nuclear power. The firm has staff of more than 130, based in London, Washington D.C., New York, Beijing, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Cape Town, São Paulo, Singapore, and Sydney.

Bloomberg New Energy Finance’s Insight Services provide deep market analysis to investors in wind, solar, bioenergy, geothermal, carbon capture and storage, energy efficiency, and nuclear power. The firm also offers dedicated services for each of the major emerging carbon markets: European, Global Kyoto, Australia, and the US, where it covers the planned regional markets as well as potential federal initiatives and the voluntary carbon market. Bloomberg New Energy Finance’s Industry Intelligence service provides access to the most comprehensive database of investors and investments in clean energy and carbon. The News and Briefing Service is the leading global news service focusing on clean energy investment. Bloomberg New Energy Finance also undertakes custom research and runs senior-level networking events.

New Energy Finance Ltd was acquired by Bloomberg LP in December 2009, and became Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

For more information on Bloomberg New Energy Finance: http://www.bloombergnewenergyfinance.com

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