Wind turbines at the Lightsource bp solar farm near the village of Rossgoch on Anglesey, Wales, May 10, 2024. Plans have been submitted to build more solar farms on the island. Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
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new Global Energy Investment 2024 Despite financial pressures, global investment in clean energy is set to be almost double that in fossil fuels this year, according to a report by the International Energy Agency (IEA).
The surge in funding will be driven by falling costs of renewable energy technologies and improvements in supply chains, according to an IEA press release.
Total global energy investment is projected to exceed $3 trillion for the first time in 2024. According to the report, about $2 trillion will be pumped into green technologies such as renewable sources, grids, storage, electric vehicles (EVs), low-emission fuels, nuclear, heat pumps and efficiency improvements. The remaining $1 trillion-plus will be dedicated to oil, gas and coal.
“Clean energy investment is setting new records even in tough economic times, highlighting the momentum of the new global energy economy. For every dollar invested in fossil fuels, almost two dollars are now invested in clean energy,” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said in a press release.
The report warns that large imbalances and shortfalls in energy investment remain around the world. It notes that green energy spending in developing and emerging countries outside of China is low. But these investments are projected to exceed $300 billion for the first time, led by Brazil and India. But this represents only about 15 percent of global renewable energy investments and far short of what is needed to meet the growing energy needs of many countries.
“Increased clean energy spending is underpinned by strong economic conditions, continuing cost reductions and energy security considerations, but there is also a large industrial policy component as major economies compete to gain advantage in new clean energy supply chains,” Birol said. “More needs to be done to ensure that investment gets to where it is needed most, particularly developing countries, which currently suffer from significant lack of access to affordable, sustainable and safe energy.”
In 2015, when the Paris Agreement was signed, total investment in green and nuclear power generation was twice that of fossil fuel energy, and this year, investment is expected to increase tenfold, led by solar photovoltaic (PV) technologies, according to the report.
“Today, more money is being put into solar power than all other power generation technologies combined. By 2024, solar investment is expected to grow to $500 billion as falling module prices spur new investment,” the press release stated.
China is expected to receive the largest share of renewable energy investment in 2024, at around $675 billion, mainly in solar, EVs and lithium batteries. Europe and the United States will be the second largest, at $370 billion and $315 billion, respectively.
The clean energy transition has been hampered by the power grid and energy storage, but spending on the grid was stagnant at about $300 billion per year from 2015 to 2021, but is projected to hit $400 billion this year.
The surge is driven primarily by new policies and funding in the United States, Europe, China, and some Latin American countries, as battery storage costs continue to fall, driving investment to $54 billion.
“Once again, this spending is highly concentrated: for every dollar invested in batteries in developed countries and China, only one cent is invested in other emerging and developing countries,” the press release said.
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