U.S. Clean Energy Draws Record $105 Billion in Private Investment

(Bloomberg) -- Private investment into U.S. clean-energy assets reached a record $105 billion last year as the country added an unprecedented amount of renewable-power capacity.

The investment influx is 11% higher than 2020 and represents a 70% surge during the past five years, according to an annual report by BloombergNEF and the Business Council for Sustainable Energy. The private backing into U.S. assets including wind farms and solar plants represents about 14% of the $755 billion in global private investment made last year.

“Clearly there's investor enthusiasm and we foresee further growth, but if you want to actually address climate change, you need to get to levels that at least double deployment,” said Ethan Zindler, an analyst at BNEF, Bloomberg's energy data and analysis unit. “What is needed is more support.”

Many governments, companies and climate-minded investors are focused on greening power grids and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Of last year's private investment in the U.S., $47 billion was for renewable energy and $35 billion supported electrified transport, according to the report, entitled “2022 Sustainable Energy in America Factbook.”

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