One year into its campaign to reach $1 trillion in U.S. private sector investment in renewable energy and enabling grid technologies by 2030, the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) is releasing a progress report tracking U.S. renewable investment and assessing the policy and market pathways needed to achieve the $1T 2030: The American Renewable Investment Goal.
“Renewable energy remains one of the most attractive investment options in America today,” said Gregory Wetstone, ACORE’s President and CEO. “Over the long-term, however, the renewable sector is going to need predictable policy drivers, competitive power markets and a modernized grid to meet its potential and answer Americans’ growing calls for a clean energy economy.”
The new report also includes an updated survey of America’s leading financial institutions that reports high near-term confidence for renewable energy growth over the next three years and a strong appetite for increased investment. The report concludes with ACORE’s near-term strategic focus toward achievement of the $1T 2030 goal, which includes acceleration of energy storage deployment, modernization of power markets, and an expanded marketplace that includes a broader pool of investors and buyers.
Report findings
In 2018, the private sector invested more than $56.7 billion in U.S. renewable energy ($48 billion) and enabling grid technologies, including energy storage ($8.2 billion). Among the key findings of ACORE’s new survey gauging investor confidence in the U.S. renewable energy sector:
• Investors’ confidence in renewable energy sector growth over the next three years remains high, with an average confidence level of 77/100
• Renewable energy maintains its attractiveness compared with other asset classes in respondents’ portfolios
Don’t miss our Solar Power International preview issue in September — subscribe to Solar Builder magazine (print or digital) for FREE today• Most 2019 survey respondents indicated that the U.S. continues to be an attractive venue for investment compared with other leading countries
• More than one-third of survey respondents plan to increase their investments in U.S. renewables by more than 10% in 2019 compared to 2018; no respondents reported that they would decrease their investments by more than 5%
• Utility-scale solar and energy storage tied as the most attractive renewable energy investment options between 2019 and 2022, with onshore wind close behind
• Investors cited the low cost of renewable energy, expanded state renewable portfolio standards, increased demand from corporate end-users, the potential for new carbon legislation, and a rush to benefit from the tax credits before they sunset among their main reasons for optimism over the next three years
