Green Finance And Investment Overcoming Barriers To International Investment In Clean Energy

This report takes stock of policy restrictions to international investment in solar PV and wind energy, and assesses their impacts across the value chains.

The perceived potential of clean energy to support employment in the post-crisis recovery context has led several OECD and emerging economies to design green industrial policies aimed at protecting domestic manufacturers, notably through local-content requirements (LCRs). These typically require solar or wind developers to source a specific share of jobs, components or costs locally. Such requirements have been designed or implemented in the solar- and wind-energy sectors in at least 21 countries, including 16 OECD countries and emerging economies, mostly since 2009. Empirical evidence gathered in this report shows however that LCRs have actually hindered international investment across the solar PV and wind-energy value chains, by increasing the cost of inputs for downstream activities. This report also takes stock of other measures that can restrict international investment in solar PV and wind energy, such as trade remedies and technical barriers. This report provides policy makers with evidence-based analysis to guide their decisions in designing clean-energy support policies.

This report develops a framework that classifies investments according to different types of financial instruments and investment funds, and highlights the techniques that intermediaries can use to mobilise institutionally held capital.

This report provides the first comprehensive study of publically capitalised green investment banks (GIBs), analysing the rationales, mandates and financing activities of this relatively new category of public financial institution that aims to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy.

The future of clean energy is no longer about science and technology; it's all about access to finance. The fossil fuel industry has been subsidized for decades with tax breaks and government backing, while renewables have struggled to compete. But now clean energy is the safe bet for investors, as is argued in Renewable Energy Finance: Powering the Future, edited by Dr Charles Donovan, Principal Teaching Fellow at Imperial College Business School. With a Foreword writer Lord Brown and contributions from some of the world's leading experts in energy finance, this timely book documents how investors are spending over US$250 billion each year on new renewable energy projects and positioning themselves in a global investment market that will continue to expand at double-digit growth rates until 2020. It documents first-hand experiences of the challenges of balancing risk and return amid volatile market conditions and rapid shifts in government policy. Renewable Energy Finance provides an insider's perspective on renewable energy transactions, and insight into how countries like the US, India and China are responding to the global energy challenge. Drawing together contributions from senior executives and leading academics, Renewable Energy Finance serves an audience of readers craving intelligent, practical perspectives on the future of clean energy investment. Contents:Section I:Introduction to Renewable Energy Finance (Charles Donovan)The Clean Energy Imperative (Jim Skea)How Much Renewable Energy Will the Global Economy Need? (Guy Turner)Investor-Specific Cost of Capital and Renewable Energy Investment Decisions (Thorsten Helms, Sarah Salm & Rolf Wüstenhagen)Section II:Markets, Governments and Renewable Electricity (Richard Green)The Impact of Government Policies on Renewable Energy Investment (Gireesh Shrimali)Mobilizing Private Sector Capital in Developing Countries (Alexandre Chavarot & Matthew Konieczny)Renewable Energy Finance in China (Philip Andrews-Speed & Sufang Zhang)Measuring the Carbon Delta of Investment Performance (Celine McInerney & Derek Bunn)Section III:The Growing Role for Private Equity (Brian Potskowski & Chris Hunt)Project Finance and the Supply of Credit from Commercial Banks (Alejandro Ciruelos Alonso)The Untapped Potential of Institutional Investors (David Nelson)The Spectacular Growth of Solar PV Leasing (Bruce Usher & Albert Gore)Crowdfunding: Ready for the Big Leagues? (Karl Harder & Sam Friggens) Readership: Advance economics undergraduates and postgraduates undertaking modules in Environmental and Energy economics. Finance students undertaking Energy Finance modules. Researchers and interested financial professionals looking for a reference volume on clean energy investing. Keywords:Renewable Energy;Clean Energy Finance;Solar Energy Financing

Viet Nam has become a leading regional market for renewable energy in a short space of time led by private sector investment facilitated by favourable support mechanisms. The Clean Energy Finance and Investment Policy Review of Viet Nam provides a comprehensive overview of the current policy framework, highlighting progress and identifying untapped opportunities for strengthening policy interventions that can help scale up clean energy finance and investment.

This report provides a case study for the development of sustainable energy lending in Ukraine. It reviews the macro-economic and political context for green investments in Ukraine, before looking in more detail at the role and capacity of the banking sector.

India has achieved major progress in its energy sector over the last two decades. Still, investment needs to scale up considerably to meet the government’s ambitions to achieve 500 GW of renewable energy capacity and energy-intensity reductions of 45% by 2030. Targeted application of public funds, alongside international climate and development finance, can crowd in investors and channel private capital to meet India’s clean energy goals.