Oil Price By Alex Kimani - Jan 24, 2021
The green energy revolution is well and truly underway. Renewables have proven to be highly resilient, emerging as the only energy sector to record any kind of growth at a time when the traditional energy sector is going through its worst existential crisis.
Indeed, the latest report by clean energy watchdog Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) reveals that a broad measure of global energy transition investments in 2020 clocked in at a record $501.3 billion, good for 9% Y/Y growth. The firm's analysis shows that both public and private investments in renewable energy capacity came to $303.5 billion, up 2% on the year, thanks mainly to the biggest-ever build-out of solar projects as well as a $50 billion surge for offshore wind.
Yet, one renewable energy source has been conspicuous by its absence: Geothermal energy.
Private equity research firm PitchBook has revealed that $675 million of investors' capital flowed into geothermal investments last year. Whereas that was a good 6x higher than the previous year's figure, it represents a minuscule amount of clean energy investments, including emerging technologies such as carbon capture and storage (CCS), which encouragingly tripled to $3 billion or hydrogen, which attracted $1.5 billion in new investor capital after declining 20% Y/Y.
But that is about to change, with struggling fossil fuel companies about to put their capital and skills to work on something that's far less degrading on the planet.
Oil and gas majors are about to make their biggest geothermal investments in more than 30 years, as geothermal economics improve while financials for the fossil fuel sector continue to pose a major challenge amid stubbornly low energy prices.
More:
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Oil-Majors-Poised-To-Make-Biggest-Geothermal-Investments-In-30-Years.html
