According to Timothy Nelson, Head of Carbon and Sustainability Strategy at AGL Energy, last year USD250 billion (AUD273 billion) was spent on energy generation equipment and construction around the world.
Over half of those funds were directed into renewable energy sources such as large-scale solar arrays, wind turbines and hydro-electric generators.
As more nations introduce mandatory renewable energy targets, investor can enjoy the dual satisfaction of tapping into a potential river of clean energy gold while helping to fund the fight against climate change at the same time.
Timothy Nelson: “The opportunities in the alternative energy market lie across the supply chain. If you look at the production of equipment, more investments need to be made. China for instance is seeing a boom in the volume of production capacity for solar photovoltaic energy.”
Mr Nelson says there are two main drivers of economic opportunity for investment into renewable energy globally:
“Firstly, government policy; Australia has recently passed a legislation of a 20 per cent renewable energy target, and China is a key driver of renewable investment through mandated policies around portfolio standards.”
“The second change revolves around technology; as we get more volume through solar photovoltaic production, prices will come down and the opportunities for retailing solar to customers will increase. Thus, the opportunities lie at both ends of the supply chain,” Mr Nelson said.
Mr Nelson will speak about key element of successful alternative energy investment strategies at the Marcus Evans APAC Alternative Investments Summit 2010 taking place in Singapore next month.
