China Ranked as the Most Attractive Country for Renewable Energy Investments

Ernst & Young has recently assessed 40 countries to determine their attractiveness to renewable energy investors.

The All Renewable Index 2012 ranked China in the top spot once again. Despite dropping 0.2 points since the last index in May, China finished with 70.2 to clinch first place. A major factor for China being voted as the most attractive country for investors was the move to increase their solar target by 400% to 50 gigawatts by 2020 in an attempt to encourage more domestic installations and use up the oversupply of photovoltaic panels.

If China manages to achieve the renewable energy targets it has set, the IEA believes that it could provide about 40 percent of the world’s renewable energy capacity within the next five years.

The US dropped 1.5 points due to the “ongoing uncertainty over the country’s long term renewable energy strategy,” mainly caused by the upcoming presidential elections. They received 66 points which handed them a second place tie with Germany.

Despite the recent blackouts India were awarded 64.1 points, making them the fourth most attractive country for renewable energy investors. The UK came fifth with 55.3 points, beating France and Italy by 0.1. Canada, Japan, and Brazil then came eighth, ninth, and tenth respectively.

By. James Burgess of Oilprice.com