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Sustainable Energy Catching up with Fossil Fuels

Date Posted: 
July 21, 2010
Publisher: 
Renewable Energy Policy Network

A Renewable Energy Policy Network report on global renewable energy investment in 2009 shows that the although spending on sustainable energy development declined in the last year, the amount of new power generated by hydro, wind and solar is nearing the amount of new power derived from fossil fuels.

Spending on renewable energy in 2009 totaled $162 billion, a 7% drop from $173 billion in 2008. The report attributes this decline to the global recession, which induced a decrease in investment in North America and Europe. However, government research and development spending increased 49% during the last year. Money allocated for renewable energy research and development from ‘green stimulus packages’ in several countries is also just beginning to be spent, so we can expect spending on renewable energy research and development to increase in the next year, according to the report. 

Despite the economic downturn and decrease in investment, the amount of sustainable energy ‘generation capacity,’ or the amount of energy created,is trending upward.  Sustainable energy investment in 2009 produced 78GW of new generation capacity from wind, solar, and hydroelectric, compared to 83GW of new fossil-fuel generation capacity.  Although we have a long way to go before sustainable energy replaces coal, oil, and gas, the renewable energy market continues to thrive.

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