Germany’s 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% 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.
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.
Meanwhile, Solar Rush in Germany
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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