China is now the world leader in renewable energy investment, as developing countries overtook developed ones for the first time in the value of major "green" projects in 2010, according to a report released Tuesday in Frankfurt.

Renewable energy industry saw a great boom last year, with a record $211 billion worldwide flowing into the sector, surging about 30 percent year-on-year, said the report named Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2011.

The report was based on a study jointly conducted by the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the news service Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

China, an emerging nation determined to change its growth pattern in recent years, leads the list of world's major renewal energy investors.

In 2010, a total of $48.9 billion were directed into green energy and technology research, particularly for wind farms, in China.

The report said wind energy projects are attracting the largest investment worldwide, with the volume jumping 30 percent to $94.7 billion last year.

Solar energy bagged $86 billion, while energy production from biomass and waste took the third place with $11-billion investments.

The study also noted that for the first time in history, developing countries as a whole has exceeded industrialized nations in major renewable energy projects.

Some $72 billion were used for green energy in developing countries' private sectors, compared with $70 billion in the developed bloc.

In 2010, Europe's investments in large-scale projects even fell 22 percent to $35.2 billion.

Germany, Europe's biggest economy and another pioneer in renewable energy, leads the world in new investments in solar panels on roofs, which hiked 132 percent to $34 billion in 2010.

(Xinhua News Agency July 5, 2011)