India topped any other major economy last year in getting investment in clean-energy projects, as it rose to 52 percent to $10.3 billion.
According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, the largest increase came from the solar industry with $4.2 billion of funding for sun-powered plants connected to the grid, a seven-fold increase from 2010 and about par with the $4.6 billion that went to wind projects.
“There was concern at the beginning of last year that increasing lending rates might hit investment,” Ashish Sethia, head of India research for New Energy Finance, said in a statement.
Renewable energy’s increasing cost-competitiveness and favorable government policies helped overcome that, he said.
Asset financing accounted for $9.5 billion of the total, while private equity and venture capital firms invested $425 million, New Energy Finance said.