Investors inject $45.5b in China clean energy

The US attracted $48 billion of clean energy investments in 2011, but China nevertheless continues to see considerable activity, particularly in the wind energy space. According to a report published by The Pew Charitable Trusts, the country has grown its clean energy generating capacity to 133 gigawatts, or 26% of the global total.

"While China's growth may have been flat in 2011, it remains a formidable contender in the global clean energy race - leading the world in production of wind turbines and solar modules," said Phyllis Cuttino, director of Pew's Clean Energy Program. "China has maintained strong, national clean energy goals, ensuring strong investment levels for the foreseeable future."

At $29 billion, wind energy investment in China was more than three times the sum of the next closest nation in 2011. The country now has more than 64 GW of installed wind energy capacity, although more than a quarter of this may not be operational or connected to the grid. Investment in solar power increased to $11.3 billion during the same period.

Asia Pacific's waste-to-energy market is projected to grow threefold in the next five years and China is once again central to this trend. Cleantech consultancy Pike Research expects the country's revenues to hit $3.7 billion by the end of the period, up from just over $1 billion in 2011.

Hudson Clean Energy Partners was sufficiently impressed by the prospects for the industry, and in particular GSE Investment Corporation's (GSEI) flagship project in Beijing - Asia's largest single line waste-to-energy plant - that it committed a reported $55 million for a minority stake in the company last month.

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• Topics
• Cleantech
• Greater China
• Infrastructure
• Infrastructure
• China
• Hudson Clean Energy Partners