In India, clean energy investments were down by 20 percent to $11 billion, compared to 2016, says the new research from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF).
India staggered when global investment in renewable energy and energy-smart technologies reached $333.5 billion last year, up 3 percent from a revised $324.6 billion in 2016.
Overall, Chinese investment in all the clean energy technologies was $132.6 billion, up 24 percent setting a new record. The next biggest investing country was the U.S., at $56.9 billion, up 1 percent on 2016 despite the less friendly tone towards renewables adopted by the Trump administration.
Solar investment globally amounted to $160.8 billion in 2017, up 18 percent on the previous year despite these cost reductions. Just over half of that world total, or $86.5 billion, was spent in China.
Large wind and solar project financings pushed Australia up 150 percent to a record $9 billion, and Mexico up 516 percent to $6.2 billion.
On the downside, Japan saw investment decline by 16 percent in 2017, to $23.4 billion, while Germany slipped 26 percent to $14.6 billion and the U.K. 56 percent to $10.3 billion in the face of changes in policy support. Europe as a whole invested $57.4 billion, down 26 percent year-on-year.
Below are the 2017 totals for other countries investing $1 billion-plus in clean energy:
- Brazil $6.2 billion, up 10 percent
- France $5 billion, up 15 percent
- Sweden $4 billion, up 109 percent
- Netherlands $3.5 billion, up 30 percent
- Canada $3.3 billion, up 45 percent
- South Korea $2.9 billion, up 14 percent
- Egypt $2.6 billion, up 495 percent
- Italy $2.5 billion, up 15 percent
- Turkey $2.3 billion, down 8 percent
- United Arab Emirates $2.2 billion, up 23-fold
- Norway $2 billion, down 12 percent
- Argentina $1.8 billion, up 777 percent
- Switzerland $1.7 billion, down 10 percent
- Chile $1.5 billion, up 55 percent
- Austria $1.2 billion, up 4 percent
- Spain $1.1 billion, up 36 percent
- Taiwan $1 billion, down 6 percent
- Indonesia $1 billion, up 71 percent
Source: BNEF