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China named world's most attractive renewables market

China has held on to its position as the most attractive renewable energy market for investment in EY’s latest bi-annual Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index (RECAI), while the UK has climbed three places since the last survey in October 2017.

China’s heavy investment into renewable energy projects, which accounted for nearly half the world total – or $280bn – last year, saw it claim the top spot on the RECAI report, which ranks 40 countries on the attractiveness of their renewable energy investment and deployment opportunities. It remains ahead of the US and Germany, which rank second and third place respectively.

India has fallen from second to fourth place, while the Netherlands has climbed from 15th to 9th position, thanks to the country’s rapid expansion of renewables, including unsubsidised offshore wind and solar PV.

The UK ranks seventh on the survey – up three places from last year – despite a large drop in renewables investment last year. This has been offset by large investment in subsidy-free solar PV and onshore wind projects, as well as powering of old wind power farms.

Taiwan has re-entered the top 40, taking 24th place, as its government takes action to increase
renewables to 20% by 2025, alongside its pledge to go nuclear-free.

Faring less positively is Japan, which fell to eighth place after facing more than 80 solar company bankruptcies in the past year due to sharp cuts in Feed-In Tariff rates and extreme competition.

The report also highlights the risk of rising protectionism to the renewable energy sector. India, for example, is considering a 70% tariff on imported solar panels, while President Trump’s decision to impose a 30% tariff on panels and modules could result in tens of thousands of job losses for solar installers in the US.

Ben Warren, EY’s Global Power & Utilities Corporate Finance Leader and RECAI Chief Editor,
said: ‘While the current economic climate has driven a relentless focus on costs, that focus is paying dividends with the global cost of electricity from renewable sources falling year-on-year.’

He added: ‘Combined with the plunging cost of battery technology, we anticipate further rapid growth of the evolving renewable energy sector in the coming years.’

 

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