China has surpassed the Americas as the top investor in clean-energy for the first time, and is increasingly using asset finance to invest in the sector.
Chinese asset finance investment in wind turbines rose by 27 percent year-on-year to $21.8 billion (€15 billion), while investment in solar technology almost doubled to $1.9 billion, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
“China’s big appetite for green energy to swiftly reduce its heavy dependence on coal was a major driving force,” said Hidetoshi Shioda, a senior energy analyst at Mizuho Securities Co. in Tokyo.
In the last few years, interest in China and the other BRIC countries – Brazil, Russia and India – has risen dramatically with many lessors setting up local operations.
These markets promise to be lucrative for the lessors in the next decade, as their economies mature and interest in asset finance products grows. “Looking ahead, China’s appetite for alternative energy investment will probably remain strong this year,” Shioda added.
Jason T Hesse
