Goldman earmarks US$487 million for Japanese RE investments

Investments will go to building solar and wind power plants.

U.S. investment banking giant Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. said the investment will take place over the next five years. Goldman plans to exploit the demand for electricity generated from solar and wind power.

The investment will be made by the Japan Renewable Energy Company, a subsidiary established by Goldman in 2012 to plan, design and operate power plants run on energy from the sun, wind, fuel cells and biomass fuels.

The investment is consistent with Goldman’s target of spending US$40 billion in renewable energy over the next 10 years. \

Japan has the potential to become the second largest market for solar energy after China by the end of 2013. Commercial and utility-based projects are expected to enhance solar installations by almost 6.1 gigawatts to 9.4 GW in 2013.