Renewables saw more than $300 billion in investments in 2015
While cost-cutting and scaling back were commonplace in the traditional energy industry in 2015, the same cannot be said in the renewable energy sector.
Renewables saw a record $329 billion in investments last year, with both solar power and wind power taking center stage across the globe.
As oil crashed, renewables raked in a record $329.3 billion of investment last year https://t.co/Ib2ZlLjtQK pic.twitter.com/HrMyxNtTkf
— Bloomberg Business (@business) January 14, 2016
Global increases in solar power generation
New wind and solar power accounted for about half of all new electricity generation last year, Bloomberg reported.
There was a 30 percent increase year-over-year from 2014 to 2015, resulting in approximately 64 gigawatts of new wind power and 57 gigawatts of new solar power.
Domestic investments
Evidence of a clear focus on renewable energy can be seen in many U.S. states. California, New York, and Massachusetts, among others, have made headlines recently with their respective energy policies.
Late last year, California put laws in place that will propel the use of renewable energy in coming years. Key details included doubling the rate of overall energy efficiency in California buildings and also generating 50 percent of all state electricity from renewable energy sources by 2030.
In New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo took a hard stance on renewable energy, calling for half of all New York electricity to originate from clean and renewable energy sources by 2030.
And Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker announced a solar loan program in December that will help homeowners better gain access to solar panels as an energy source.
Orginally published on → Solar Energy Local
