Despite hints of a global recovery for renewable energy investment, Europe saw their progress stall over the last year, recording a little less than 1% growth for the period, according to United Nation data released this week.
According to a EuroActiv report, the data showed a dim view of Europe's renewable aspirations, with China and the United States dwarfing their progress. The report stated that while global investment in renewables had grown 17% to €290 billion in 2014, led by solar and wind projects, Europe stood still
In some corners of the continent, renewable energy remains a toxic option for investors, with many scorned by erratic and unsteady regulations over the last several years. Despite some recent commentary that Spain – once Europe's poster child for a renewable future – had begun to finally recover, many foreign investors remain cautious about the prospect of returning.
Midway through 2014, Madrid unveiled a new clean energy bill that would cap earnings on power plants as well as introduce retroactive actions, earning a quick rebuke from the country’s already ailing renewable sector. According to a Bloomberg report, clean energy “generators will earn a rate of return of about 7.5 percent over their lifetimes,” adding that the rate may be revised every three years and is based on “the average interest of a 10-year sovereign bond plus 3 percentage points.”
With no shift in political leadership since Spain began hacking away at its renewable support system – and with it, the country's dreams of a renewable economy – it's difficult to imagine a quick return of investor confidence.
“Southern Europe is still almost a no-go area for investors because of retroactive policy changes, most recently those affecting solar farms in Italy,” said Michael Liebreich, chairman of the advisory board for Bloomberg New Energy Finance told Euroactiv.
Speaking anonymously, one investor with significant time and experience with green energy in Europe said that he had seen some money begin to return to the region, but that was due mostly to short memories and the notion that all the pain has been dealt and the regulatory environment is now stable.
However, they added that they felt any such return was irrationally crazy.
There were a few points of progress, located mostly around the United Kingdom, including offshore wind projects funded by the Netherlands, the UK and Germany
The news comes despite the fact that Europe has made a concerted effort over the last six years to ease themselves off of costly and often unstable energy imports, namely those coming from Russia. During that time, a number of regional schemes have failed to catch fire, including new oil and gas agreements and a renewable return.
European leaders will have a chance to reiterate their goals this autumn at the 2015 U.N. Climate Change Conference, where member states are expected to hash out climate action plans that will likely have to include some growth of renewable energy contributions.
