A total of $57.2 billion was invested in wind projects in the first six months of the year, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) — up 33% year-on-year.
This compared with a 19% drop for solar PV as capital costs fell — meaning fewer dollars were spent per megawatt installed — and the Chinese solar boom cooled. BNEF expects these trends to continue in the second half of the year.
Overall, $138.2 billion was invested in clean energy in H1 2018, down 1% from the same period in 2017. However, the $76.7 billion invested in the second quarter of the year marked an 8% increase on the same period 12 months prior.
Headline wind deals in the first half of the year included:
- A $1.5 billion investment in the 731.5MW Borssele III and IV wind farm off the Dutch coast, which reached financial close in June;
- $1 billion in NextEra Energy’s 478MW Hale project in Texas. Construction of the site was approved in May; and
- Macquarie Capital, Swancor Renewable and Ørsted investing $627 in the 120MW Formosa 1 project — the first Taiwanese offshore project to reach financial close.
In the United States H1 financing for wind projects reached $17.5 billion — up 121% on the same period one year earlier, while Chinese investments rose 4% to $17.6 billion.
US wind investments made up 60% of total clean energy investments ($28.8 billion) in the country, while in China funding in wind accounted for 30% of the total ($58.1 billion).
Amy Grace, BNEF’s head of North American research, added: "We see US wind investment increasing in 2018-19 as developers rush to finance projects in time to qualify for federal tax credits."
The production tax credit is being phased out over five years to 2021.
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