China displaces UK in top five countries for renewables

China has moved into the top five most attractive countries for renewables investment, knocking the UK to sixth place, according to an Ernst & Young survey. The Energy country attractiveness indices, published by E&Y every quarter, look at a country’s renewable energy markets, infrastructure issues and suitability for individual technologies.

China’s rise up the index, which takes it to joint fourth place with Spain, is due to its growth in wind energy and a fast build up of supply chain capability, says E&Y. China aims to generate 15% of the country’s energy from non-carbon sources by 2012.

The UK’s drop in the index is due to delays in the implementation of the Energy Bill which is currently under review, E&Y says. “The UK is possibly being overly dependent on its ability to translate ambitious targets into reality and needs to