Global clean energy investment fell 6% year-on-year to US$67.8 billion in the third quarter

According to the latest authoritative data from research firm Bloomberg NEF (BNEF), global clean energy investment was $67.
8 billion in the third quarter of 2018, down 6%
from the same period last year.

The decline in the July-September quarter pushed investment down 2 percent in the first three quarters of the year from a year earlier, but also left open the possibility that 2018 as a whole would eventually match last year's total, especially if billions of dollars in offshore wind deals
were completed before Christmas.

BNEF said equity financing by specialist electric vehicle companies in their total clean energy investments was a notable highlight
in the most recent quarter.
NIO IPO was US$1 billion, Guangzhou Xpeng Motors raised US$585 million in Series C venture capital, and Zhejiang Dianka Motor's US$294 million pre-IPO first public offering
.

Colin McKerracher, head of transport analysis at BNEF, said more and more money is chasing China's electric vehicle boom
.
"We're seeing more and more companies raising capital as they look to make the leap from concept cars to high-volume production
.
But the market looks increasingly crowded, and consolidation is likely to occur
.
”

Looking at the type of global investment data for the third quarter, asset financing for utility-scale renewable energy projects reached $49.
3 billion, down 15% from the third quarter of 2017, while purchases of smaller solar systems smaller than 1MW totaled $13.
5 billion, up 9%
a year ago.

Public market investment in clean energy rose 120 percent to $3.
1 billion, helped by the aforementioned NIO listing, as well as a $1.
3 billion convertible bond from waste-to-energy specialist China Everbright International and a $311 million IPO
by U.
S.
fuel cell developer Bloom Energy.

Venture capital and private equity VC/PE investments grew even more, reaching 378% to $2.
4 billion
.
In the first nine months of 2018, venture capital and private equity funding from specialized clean energy companies has reached $7.
5 billion, making this year the strongest since at least 2011
.
The six largest VC/PE IPOs so far in 2018 have all involved Chinese EV companies, including the two
companies mentioned above.

During the quarter, the top three renewable energy asset financings were the 860 MW Triton Knoll project in UK waters with an investment cost of US$2.
6 billion, Enel Green Power's portfolio in South Africa at a 706 MW investment cost of US$1.
4 billion, and the Guohua Dongtai Offshore Wind Farm Phase IV in Chinese Waters with an investment of approximately US$1.
2 billion
.

By country, China was once again the largest investor in clean energy in the third quarter, at $26.
7 billion, slightly higher than the figure for the same period in 2017
.
However, there is another important sign of a change in expectations: China's 531 PV policy has slowed the growth of
solar installations in the country.
In the third quarter, China's solar investment was US$14.
2 billion, down 23%
year-on-year.

Other countries and regions that invested more than $1 billion in clean energy in the third quarter were:

Europe $13.
4 billion, up 1% year-on-year;

Germany $1.
3 billion, down 49% year-on-year;

India $1.
5 billion, up 14% year-on-year;

Japan $4 billion, down 21% year-on-year;

the Netherlands $1.
1 billion, a four-fold increase year-on-year;

South Africa reached US$2.
6 billion, a 90-fold increase year-on-year, making investment in 2018 the highest in five years;

Spain's $1.
9 billion, an 11-fold increase, made investment in 2018 the highest since 2011;

Turkey $1.
2 billion, up 25% year-on-year;

$2.
9 billion in the UK, down 46% year-on-year;

The United States was $11.
4 billion, down 20%
year-on-year.