US falls to China in renewable energy investment charts

In a new document released from Ernst & Young's latest renewable energy country attractiveness Indices, China has drawn level - and will eventually exceed - the US as the most appealing country to invest in renewable energy projects.

According to Ernst & Young, China joined the list in 2004, and has since risen to the top spot.

"A two point rise for China [...] together with a single-point fall for the US, brings the Asian giant into joint first position with the US. China invested almost twice as much in clean energy projects last year compared with the US, and has emerged as the world's market leader in installed wind power capacity in 2009," says the report.

With the US and China claiming the top two spots, Germany, Italy and India round off the final top five places.

"India has increased two points following the Government's injection of over US$1 billion into the green economy and the unveiling of plans for up to 4GW of wind capacity and 1GW of solar power to be installed in the short to medium term," says the report.

Negative results in Europe

Other countries, from Europe to Australasia, both saw a negative result, with Mediterranean countries like Greece, Spain and Portugal losing points.

"Greece, Spain and Portugal have all suffered negative score changes due to worsening capital markets and a downward revision of sovereign credit ratings by Standard and Poor. Q1 was also a difficult period of Australia, dropping two points following the delay in the planned emission trading scheme until after 2012."

The Ernst & Young country attractiveness indices provide scores for national renewable energy markets, renewable energy infrastructures and their suitability for individual technologies.

The indices provide scores out of 100.

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Integrating renewables into a smart grid | Letting the light shine on solar power | Energy solutions in sight - storing the sun's energy | Is wind energy the future?

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