Renewable energy investments slowing down

A.T.

KPMG"s report on mergers and acquisitions in the renewable energy sector shows that 63% of the companies are waiting for increased subsidies in this sector. KPMG shows that in spite of unfavorable conditions, companies operating across the globe in the renewable energy sector are optimistic about the future. 78% of executives in the sector feel that the projects for the exploitation of renewable energy sources are economically viable, in spite of dropping prices for fossil fuels and of the financial crisis, according to a press release received by our editors. Péter Kiss, Head of Global Energy and Utilities Sector at KPMG, said that even though the European Union (EU) has decided that by 2020, 20% of the energy consumption should be covered by renewable energy sources, the current economic crisis and the economic decline have slowed down the progress of projects in the renewable energy sector. Conventional energy production technologies are still favorites in the energy sector. The study shows that more than 60% of the respondents feel that the output of wind and solar energy will increase by more than 5% in 2009, compared to just 38% of the respondents, who estimate a similar increase when it comes to offshore wind energy production and just 19% that estimate similar growth of energy produced using sea-based technologies. According to Mr. Kiss, Romania, Poland, Czech Republic, Croatia, Hungary, Slovenia and Bulgaria could become some of the most attractive countries for investing in generating energy using wind, biomass, hydroelectric or geothermal energy.