FEATURE / Renewable Energy
Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation ( Apicorp ). Its regional 2021-25 investment report concludes that approximately USD805 billion of energy investments will be made regionally in the next 4 years . The particular point of interest is that while oil takes approximately 28 per cent of that pie , there is a visible drop between projects committed ( USD127 billion ) and projects planned ( USD99 billion ). The power sector , which again is increasingly renewables minded , shows a ramp-up trend , with USD93 billion of committed projects versus USD157 billion of planned deals .
Few would describe the 2021 energy market as anything less than boisterous , seemingly supercharged by the gloom of COVID-19 lock downs permeating the world in 2020 . However , in 2022 , the proverbial clouds are beginning to gather over the sunny renewables industry , and these warrant consideration as they are unlikely to disappear any time soon .
THE INFLATION CLOUD The seemingly inflation-proof westerns economies , more specifically the USA and the wider European market , have now experienced what developing world has for years considered the norm – escalating prices . The latest figures show most western economies languishing in the 8 per cent annual inflation category , something that no one would have predicted couple of years ago when all countries were beset by near zero inflation and looming deflation . The causes of that inflation are probably best left to the economists , but the results of that inflation are definitely being felt in the renewables market and have some interesting legal consequences .
For one , many renewables deals which were procured or awarded under a competitive bid basis last year are struggling to keep to their budgets . In part , the problem is a historical one . For several years , the input costs for renewables theoath-me . com • the Oath 17