UK: January 3, 2008


LONDON - Investment in clean energy worldwide rose by a third last year to US$117 billion, boosted by widespread concerns over global warming, researchers New Energy Finance said on Wednesday.


Government measures to combat climate change and support clean energy sources such as wind, biofuels and solar have drawn investment funding into the sector, helping it weather a wider credit crunch which has strained markets and threatened lending elsewhere.

The amount of new money invested in clean energy grew to US$117.2 billion last year, up 35 percent from US$86.5 billion in 2006, said New Energy Finance, which defines new investment as public and private funding of clean energy companies and assets.

Later this month the European Union's executive Commission will detail how the EU will get a fifth of all its energy from renewable sources by 2020. Last month US President George W. Bush signed into law an energy bill which will raise biofuel output five fold by 2022.

One notable financing in 2006 was the US$6.6 billion flotation last month of Iberdrola Renovables formerly the renewable energy unit of Spanish utility Iberdrola which retains a large holding in the new company.


REUTERS NEWS SERVICE