China Shines Bright as Solar Leads Record Renewables Investment

Solar investments eclipsed all other forms of electricity generation in 2017 as China’s green boom accelerated.

Investors worldwide plowed a record $161 billion into solar energy last year, more than half the investment in all renewables apart from large hydroelectric projects, according to a report jointly published by the United Nations and Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Total investment in renewables rose 2 percent to $280 billion.

In its bid to no longer be seen as the world’s worst polluter, China invested $127 billion in renewable energy last year. More than two-thirds of that was for 53 gigawatts of solar ...