Attractiveness of America for renewable energy investing is increasing, survey finds

According to a new report, 100 percent of renewable energy investors find America increasingly more attractive compared to other countries.

The analysis, Expectations for Renewable Energy Finance in 2023-2026 done by the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE), looked at the near- and mid-term outlooks of some of the most prominent investors and developers in the renewable energy sector and their view of the America’s renewable energy sector since the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). For the first time in the six years ACORE has been conducting investor surveys, investors unanimously said they expect the U.S. to increase in attractiveness for renewable energy investment compared to other countries from 2023-2026.

“America has never been a more attractive venue for renewable energy investment than it is today, thanks largely to the policy certainty provided by the IRA,” said ACORE President and CEO Gregory Wetstone. “Even as tremendous opportunity awaits, there are still serious market challenges that must be resolved to realize the potential of the IRA and achieve the Biden administration’s goal of power sector decarbonization by 2035.”

The survey found that all of the developers and most of the investors plan to increase their activity in the U.S. renewable energy sector with 84 percent of investors saying they plan to increase their investment by 5 percent or more.

Additionally, most of the investors surveyed (83 percent) said they expect the attractiveness of renewable energy to moderately or significantly increase compared to other asset classes, and none of them expected the attractiveness of renewable energy to decrease.

While challenges like supply chain constraints, trade restrictions, insufficient transmission capacity and others create significant risks, most large developers and many investors said they were willing to take on increased risks. A third of the developers said they have reduced their risk profiles.

ACORE said policy reforms and market drivers it is pursuing this year will accelerate renewable energy growth, maximize the impact of the IRA and reduce the effect of sector headwinds.