Latest Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Indices

The latest Ernst & Young Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness indices see China climbing three points in the “all renewables” index to tie with Germany, following the Chinese government’s announcements of increased support for solar panel based energy production.
  
Chinese 2020 targets for solar power have risen to 9GW, which is 75 times the current solar capacity of about 120MW. Chinese wind power capacity is also rapidly building after the recent  increased capacity targets of 100GW by 2020. 
  
Even with the recent news of an expanded Renewable Energy Target for Australia, Ernst & Young are not anticipating a significant shift in Australia’s global position. 
  
The expanded RET translates into 10.6 GW of new generation capacity by 2020, assuming a capacity factor of 35%. However, the current development pipeline for wind alone already has >14,000 GW of projects projects either at the evaluation stage (exploring feasibility), development stage (seeking planning approvals), or under construction. According to the company, this suggests that legislation is merely playing ‘catch-up’ with the renewable energy investment market.
   
Ernst and Young Renewables Index August 2009 Ranking:
  
( ) figure indicates previous ranking.
  
1 (1) – US 
2 (2) – Germany 
2 (3) – China 
4 (4) – India 
5 (5) – Spain 
6 (6) – Italy 
7 (7) – UK 
7 (8) – France 
9 (9) – Canada 
10 (9) – Portugal 
11 (11) – Ireland 
12 (12) – Greece 
13 (12) – Australia 
13 (14) – Sweden
15 (15) – Netherlands 
15 (15) – Poland 
17 (17) – Denmark 
17 (17) – Belgium 
17 (17) – Norway 
20 (20) – Brazil 
  
The Renewables Index includes onshore wind, offshore wind, solar, biomass/other, geothermal and infrastructure. 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 and are updated on a regular basis.