German Bank KfW devotes a third of lending to green technologies

KFW

German Bank KfW devotes a third of lending to green technologies


By Greentech Lead Team:
Germany state-owned development bank, KfW, devotes about a third of its loans
to renewable energy and other green technologies and plans to raise that
further this year.

Last year, it committed 22.8 billion euros ($30 billion), about 32 percent of
all financing, reports Reuters. It allocated 9.4 billion euros for renewable
energy, 10.1 billion euros for energy efficiency, and 3.3 billion for other
areas such as waste management.

The bank is the largest lender in
Germany, and the sixth-largest funder of renewable energy projects worldwide.
It provided funds for two large offshore wind farms, which were among the
largest deals last year, says Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

In Germany, still the world’s
biggest market for renewable energy, KfW financed over 41% of all investments
there in 2011, according to SustainableBusiness.com.

With solar subsidies dropping, there was less demand for financing in 2011, but
more demand for energy efficiency.

Last month, KfW bought a stake in
France’s largest solar plant and agreed to loan 250 million euros to build
India’s biggest solar park, reports Reuters.

The silver lining to the threat of reduced subsidies is the huge demand that
precedes them.

That’s happening again in Germany, ahead of expected April 1 cuts. The first
quarter is usually the weakest for solar (because harsh weather makes it hard
to install), but this one looks could be big.


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