Renewable energy investment commitments from GE Energy Financial Services now exceed $15 billion. The announcement from the global energy investor – a business unit of GE – came earlier this week, at the American Wind Energy Association's Windpower 2017 conference.
"Renewable energy has a vibrant future with demand increasing across the world, and it creates jobs and addresses global environmental challenges," David Nason, president and CEO of GE Energy Financial Services, said in a statement.
GE Energy Financial Services said that global renewable energy investments were outpacing fossil fuel investment by two to one.
It said its investment commitments were across 17 countries and made up of wind, solar and other renewable technologies. Wind represented 75 percent of investment commitments, with solar accounting for 18 percent.
The figures come in the same week that the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) said that almost 10 million people were employed in the renewable energy sector in 2016.
IRENA's report, Renewable Energy and Jobs – Annual Review 2017, stated that global renewable energy employment in 2016, excluding large hydropower, hit 8.3 million. If direct employment in large hydropower was included, that figure climbs to 9.8 million.
