Green energy investment hit a record-high in 2015 powered by offshore wind in the UK
The UK’s clean energy sector broke new ground last year, hitting a record-high investment of £16.25bn, powered by a booming offshore wind market.
Wind investment more than doubled between 2014 and 2015 to hit £10.6bn, new figures from Bloomberg New Energy Finance show.
Oil prices have plunged to multi-year lows, with international benchmark Brent crude dipping briefly below $30 a barrel yesterday. But despite crashing fossil fuel prices, green investments soared to an all-time high globally, hitting £228.5bn.
Global investment has grown to nearly six times what it was in 2004.
Michael Liebreich, chairman of the Bloomberg New Energy Finance advisory board, called the figures a “stunning riposte” to naysayers expecting green energy investment to stall on falling oil and gas prices:
They highlight the improving cost-competitiveness of solar and wind power, driven in part by the move by many countries to reverse-auction new capacity rather than providing advantageous tariffs, a shift that has put producers under continuing price pressure.