ORTECH Consulting

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April 15, 2016: Energy Matters: Renewables

Renewables

 - Top 3 developed nations' investment in renewable energy:
   1. China ($102.9 billion USD)
   2. United States ($44.1 billion)
   3. Japan ($36.2 billion)

Top 3 developing nations investment in renewable energy:
   1. India ($10.2 billion - up 22 percent from the previous year)
   2. South Africa ($4.5 billion - up 329 percent)
   3. Mexico ($4 billion - up 105 percent)
(Note: global investments in renewable power projects totaled $266.0 billion last year, which was more than double the $130.0 billion invested in coal and natural gas-fired power plants in 2015.)

The World Bank, the largest provider of public finance to developing countries, is going to spend 28% of its investments on projects related to renewable energy.

Off-shore wind is common in some parts of Europe; in the US, the first off-shore wind project is under construction off the coast of Rhode Island. Virginia will have the next in Virginia Beach. The next 3 currently under review for permits are: Morro Bay in California, followed by South Carolina, and then New Jersey.

There are about 2.5 million people in the US working in clean-energy jobs; of that total, about 1.9 million are in jobs related to "efficiency."

- In 2016, the solar sector will add more new electricity-generating capacity than any other - including natural gas and wind. Planned installations include 9.5 gigawatts of utility-scale solar, followed by 8 gigawatts of natural gas and 6.8 gigawatts of wind. However, official projections for solar are consistently understated because they only consider large or utility-scale solar arrays and do not account for rooftop solar, which is also substantial.