The United Nations Environment Program released its ninth annual Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment Report this past week. According to the report, renewable energy increased by 17 percent from 2013 and investment reached close to the 2011 all time high of $279 billion shy by only 3 percent at $270 billion. The UNEP's evaluation also came to the following conclusions:

• A solar energy rise of 25 percent to $149.6 billion for the year, adding 46 GW of capacity
• Geothermal investment rose 27 percent to $2.7 billion 
• Solar and wind energy accounted for 90 percent of all investment
• Wind energy rose by 11 percent with an added 49 GW and $99.5 billion investment

This 103 added GW of power, according to Clean Technica, is equal to the same output capacity as the 158 nuclear power plant reactors in the United States. The study concluded that renewable energy sources like biomass, geothermal, marine power, small power, solar, waste-to-power and wind made up 9.1 percent of the world's electricity generation.

 Renewable energy sourcing all expanded more into a range of developing countries including:

• Brazil ($7.6 billion)
• China ($83.3 billion)
• India ($7.4 billion)
• South Africa ($5.5 billion)

Chile, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico and Turkey also invested more than $1 billion each in renewable resources. 

This data makes it clear that the renewable energy market is not going to disappear anytime soon, rather, it will only continue to grow as more countries see their investment return in resources, capital and environment changes.

On a smaller scale, playing your part in the renewable energy game can be as easy as having a home inspection done. An energy efficiency audit, like those conducted by Alban Inspections, can alert you to home changes, maintenance and other issues that could be increasing both your utility bills and carbon footprint. Schedule an inspection today or read through our site for more information.