Rystad expects $250 billion in global solar investment in 2023, Mercom registers record in corporate financing

Norwegian energy industry consultancy Rystad Energy AS recorded $560 billion in global investment in »low-carbon« energy last year. Alongside wind, solar, hydropower, geothermal and hydrogen, Rystad also counts nuclear power and carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) in its overview. The amount represents growth of 21 percent year-on-year and also means that, for the first time, investment in the aforementioned technologies overtook the oil and gas sector. For 2023, however, the company expects only about a ten percent ($60 billion) increase to $620 billion.
Rystad expects onshore and offshore wind power to account for the largest share of investments, followed by solar energy, for which $250 billion in investments are planned. At plus six percent, this would correspond to growth below the overall average, but at the same time, due to lower costs, especially for polysilicon, it would enable an increase in installed capacity worldwide of around 25 percent to 1.25 terawatts.
In its report on global investments and acquisitions in the solar industry, U.S. market research and consulting firm Mercom Capital calculated a total volume of seven billion dollars in venture capital for 2022 in a total of 90 large transactions, which corresponds to an increase of 56 percent compared to the previous year. Public market financing, on the other hand, declined 32 percent to $5.1 billion, while debt financing fell 24 percent to $ 12 billion. Mercom also recorded 128 corporate acquisitions totaling nearly $ 120 billion – almost double the previous year's total. The largest of these, at $6.8 billion, was the acquisition of the renewable energy division of U.S.-based ConEdison by Germany’s RWE AG.
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