GLOBE-Net, June 18, 2012.  Against an increasingly rough and tumble competitive landscape, total investment in renewables excluding large hydro last year increased 17% to a record $257 billion, a six-fold increase on the 2004 figure and 94% higher than the total in 2007, the year before the world financial crisis, says the UNEP report, Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2012.

The report was prepared by the UNEP Collaborating Centre for Climate and Sustainable Energy Finance in association with Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

Although last year's 17% increase was smaller than the 37% rise recorded in 2010, it was achieved against the backdrop of a widening sovereign debt crisis in Europe and during a period of rapidly falling prices for renewable power equipment. 

In more and more countries, renewable energy has outgrown its "niche player" status and now represents a significant and rapidly growing share of total energy supply.

REN21's Renewables 2012 Global Status Report notes that during 2011, renewables continued to grow strongly in all end-use sectors - power, heating and cooling and transport. Renewable sources have grown to supply 16.7 % of global final energy consumption.

Of that, traditional biomass's share has declined slightly, while modern renewable energy's share has risen. In 2011, renewable energy technologies continued to expand into new markets: around 50 countries installed wind power capacity, and solar PV capacity was moving rapidly into new regions and countries.

Solar hot water collectors are used by more than 200 million households as well as in many public and commercial buildings all around the world. 

In the power sector, renewables accounted for almost half of the estimated 208 gigawatts (GW) of electric capacity added globally during the year. By the end of 2011, total renewable power capacity  worldwide exceeded 1,360 GW, up 8% over 2010; renewables comprised more than 25% of total global power-generating capacity (estimated at 5,360 GW in 2011) and supplied an estimated 20.3% of global electricity. 

Solar generation surged past wind power to become the renewable energy technology of choice for global investors in 2011.

Solar attracted nearly twice as much investment as wind, driving the renewables sector to yet another record-breaking year, albeit one beset with challenges for the renewables industry. Total investment in solar power jumped 52% jump to $147 billion.

China remained the leader, with $52 billion of renewables investment, excluding large hydro, closely followed by the US with $51 billion.

Europe remains the biggest region for dollars invested, with $101 billion in 2011. Among the other major developing economies, the star performer was India, where the country's National Solar Mission helped to spur an impressive 62% increase in renewable energy investment to $12 billion, the fastest investment expansion of any large renewables market in the world. In Brazil, there was an 8% increase to $7 billion.

At least 118 countries, more than half of which are developing countries, had renewable energy targets in place by early 2012, up from 96 one year before, although some slackening of policy support was seen in developed countries.

This weakening reflected austerity pressures, particularly in Europe, and legislative deadlock in the US Congress. Support for renewable power generation remains the most popular policy option with at least 65 countries and 27 states now having feed-in-tariffs (FITs).

Canada's investment in clean energy grew to $5.5 billion in 2011 with over 85% of those investments directed towards wind resources and to the solar sector.

the full report Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2012 is available for download here.