Expectations for Renewable Energy Finance in 2021-2024: American Council on Renewable Energy Report

The American Council on Renewable Energy (“ACORE”) issued a June 2021 report titled:

Expectations for Renewable Energy Finance in 2021-2024: Growing Confidence in the Aftermath of the Pandemic (“Report”)

ACORE states the Report assesses progress on its campaign to:

• Achieve $1 trillion in private sector investment in United States renewable energy
• Enable grid technologies by 2030
• Advocate for policy reforms and market drivers to help meet the referenced goal

The Report also assesses experiences in the renewable energy market over the past year along with expectations for sector investment and development over the next three years.

Key conclusions in the Report include:

• The U.S. has now attracted $167 billion in investment for renewable energy, grid-enabling technologies and transmission for renewable integration since the $1T 2030 campaign launch in 2018.
• Asset finance investment in the U.S. renewable energy and grid-enabling technology sectors decreased overall in 2020 to $58.3 billion, even as the solar and energy storage sectors had record years.
• While aggressive, the $1T 2030 objective puts the U.S. in reach of a carbon-free electricity system.
• Surveyed investors and developers report, on average, even higher confidence levels in the renewable energy and energy storage sectors than in ACORE’s past surveys, which have always reflected strong optimism.
• More than two-thirds of surveyed investors (68%) report plans to increase their investments by more than 10 percent this year compared to 2020.
• Similarly, developers plan to maintain or increase their activity in 2021 compared to 2020.
• Nearly all surveyed investors (90%) and developers (93%) report either maintained or increased risk appetites in 2021 compared to 2020.
• Investors and developers continue to report shortages in tax equity in 2021.
• Investors consider the U.S. to be an attractive venue for investment compared to leading countries like China over the next three years.
• Investors expect the attractiveness of renewable energy to be maintained or increase compared to other asset classes in their portfolios in 2021-2024.
• Energy storage and utility-scale solar rank as the most popular preferences for investment among surveyed investors over the next three years.
• PJM, CAISO and NYISO rank as the most attractive U.S. regions for renewable energy investment and development over the next three years.
• Looking forward, most investors and developers select long-term extensions of the wind and solar tax credits and a new standalone energy storage tax credit as effective federal policy options for growing the sector.

A copy of the Report can be downloaded here.