Despite the turbulent global economy, the world of renewable energy continues to expand. This edition of Taxes and Incentives for Renewable Energy, compiled by KPMG's Global Energy & Natural Resources tax practice, describes current incentives provided by 23 countries around the world to promote renewable energy from wind, solar, biomass, geothermal and hydropower. These policies also support increased energy efficiency, smart-grid management, biofuels, carbon capture systems and storage technologies.
In addition to overviews of specific investment and operating support schemes available in each of these leading 23 countries, the report also includes an in-depth look at the top five renewable energy producing countries – China, the U.S., Germany, Spain, and Brazil. It also suggests that, as with many other industries, recent trends indicate that the “center of gravity” for the renewable energy sector is shifting from developed to emerging countries, both for manufacturing and for consumption. Whether this shift continues will be a matter of economic, technological and political factors related to green energy.