BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 22
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
Greenfield announcements in energy generation and distribution decreased by 13 percent to $99 billion in 2020 year-on-year, as foreign investors continued to invest more in renewable energy power projects than in projects based on fossil fuels, Trend reports with reference to UNCTAD.
Projects in renewable energy, which hit a record high in terms of both value and number in 2019, were not immune from the global economic shock but showed resilience. Greenfield investment in renewables declined by only 5 percent in value, to $88 billion, across 507 projects. All but one of the 10 highest value energy projects announced by foreign investors in 2020 were in the renewable energy industry.
The value of announced greenfield investment projects fell to $564 billion in 2020, the lowest level ever recorded. The geographical focus of foreign investors shifted to developed economies. Consequently, developing countries faced an unprecedented downturn in greenfield FDI projects. The importance of the primary sector continued to wane. The aggregate value of announced greenfield projects in the sector halved to $11 billion, representing less than 2 per cent of the total. More than half of that value came from a single $6.4 billion project in oil and gas extraction in Australia, announced by Royal Dutch Shell (Netherlands–United Kingdom). The contraction in the number of greenfield project announcements was most pronounced in the manufacturing sector. The services sector, which represents half of the value of global greenfield projects in 2019, was less affected.
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