$257bn invested in renewable energy in 2011 - SOLAR 50% up

Global investment in renewable energy reached a record of $257 billion

last year, with solar attracting more than half the total spending, according to a UN report released Monday.

$257bn - 50% solar ($147bn up 50% 2010)

Investment in solar energy surged to $147 billion in 2011, a year-on-year increase of 52 percent thanks to strong demand for rooftop photovoltaic installations in Germany, Italy, China and Britain.

China invested $50bn, US invested $50bn

was responsible for almost a fifth of the total investment volume, spending $52 billion on renewable energy last year. The United States was close behind with investments of $51 billion

Environmental summit in Rio de Janeiro

World renewables 17% 2011

Solar & wind 8% - Biomass 8%

The U.N. is hoping that countries will use an environmental summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, next week to commit to further investments in renewable energy, which covered just 16.7 percent of global energy consumption in 2010.

80% electricity consumed worldwide still comes from fossil fuels

The U.N. report claims that solar panels installed in Germany, Italy, Spain, Denmark and Australia can now compete with the retail cost of electricity in those countries, even as government feed-in subsidies are lowered.

source The Salt Lake Tribune: sltrib.com