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Clean energy, transportation investments hit new high of $71B in Q1 2024

Clean energy, transportation investments hit new high of $71B in Q1 2024
(Credit: zak zak / Flickr)

Clean energy and transportation investment in the United States continued its record-setting growth in Q1 of 2024, reaching a new high of $71 billion, according to a new report from the Clean Investment Monitor.

The report, Clean Investment Monitor: Q1 2024 Update, shows a sustained quarter-on-quarter growth trend that began in Q1 2021, with a 40% increase in Q1 of 2024 from the same period in 2023. Clean investment accounted for 5.1% of total US private investment in structures, equipment, and durable consumer goods in the United States, compared to 3.7% in Q1 2023.

Investment in manufacturing clean energy and transportation technology continued to be the main driver of clean investment and growth and increased 28% quarter-on-quarter, again led by the electric vehicle supply chain.

Investment in deploying technology to decarbonize energy and industrial production slipped 3% quarter-on-quarter but is still up 51% compared to the same period last year. And investment in the deployment of emerging climate technologies (ECT)—clean hydrogen, carbon management, and sustainable aviation fuels—continued to surge, with a 37% increase relative to Q4 2023 and a five-fold increase relative to Q1 2023. Indeed, actual investment in each individual ECT technology surpassed wind investment this quarter, reflecting continued momentum.

Retail investment declined 3% relative to the previous quarter but increased 12% compared to Q1 2023. The quarterly decline in retail investment was due primarily to a slowdown in zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) sales in Q1. New ZEV registrations (a proxy for sales) declined by 9% in Q1 2024 relative to the previous quarter (though still up 14% compared to Q1 2023). The weakness came entirely from battery electric vehicles (BEV).

In the energy & industry segment, there was $24 billion in new investment in clean energy production and industrial decarbonization in Q1 2024, dropping 3% quarter-on-quarter but still up 51% compared to the same period last year. Of that $24 billion, utility-scale solar and storage investment accounted for the majority at $15 billion

Grid-scale storage investment increased 7% quarter-on-quarter, and 48% year-on-year to a record $5.8 billion. However, utility-scale solar investment fell by 16% from the record $11 billion invested last quarter. Wind investment decreased 32% quarter-on-quarter to $1.9 billion in Q1 – a 5% decline in wind investment compared to the same period in 2023.

The most rapid growth in energy & industry segment investment in Q1 2024 occurred in emerging climate technologies (ECT)—clean hydrogen, carbon management, and sustainable aviation fuels—on course with sustained growth throughout 2023. In Q1, there was $6.3 billion in investment in deploying these technologies, a 37% increase relative to Q4 2023 and a five-fold increase relative to Q1 2023.

Read the full report here.