China surpasses US in renewable energy investments

China has surged ahead of the US as the most attractive place for renewable energy investment. This is based on the Ernst & Young report.

The two countries were tied in last year’s Ernst & Young's Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Indices.
But with $34.6 billion in investments in 2009, China surpassed the United States by more than $15 billion, accounting for 30.5 percent of G-20 investment in renewable power. A full 71.1 percent of this investment went to wind power. Although only eight percent of China's renewable energy spending went into solar power, it has already become the world's largest producer of solar panels.

 "China's steady rise to pole position has been underpinned by strong and consistent government support for renewable energy.  This, together with substantial commitment from industry and the sheer scale of its natural resources, means that its position as top spot for renewable energy investment is well merited," said Ben Warren, Ernst & Young's environment and energy infrastructure advisory leader. “

However,  the United States still leads the world in research and development of renewable energy technology, it has fallen behind in manufacturing.

The United Kingdom and the European Union came in third and fourth, investing $11.2 billion and $10.8 billion, primarily in wind. Fifth-place Spain, with a $10.4 billion investment, focused its spending primarily on solar, with wind coming in second.

The only Latin American country on the list, Brazil came in sixth. Germany ranked seventh, with splitting its $4.3 billion investment primarily between solar, at 44.3 percent, and wind power, at 31.2 percent. Canada came in eighth and Italy came in ninth, with both nations focusing on wind power.

In tenth place, India spent $2.3 billion on renewable technologies.