Today a major part of the energy produced steams from fossil fuels, finite resources, and a change towards an energy sector based on renewable energy is necessary. Sweden is one of the leading countries with regards to investments in renewable energy but most other countries have a long way to go. This makes it interesting in developing renewable energy projects in new markets in countries like Poland where still a lot of fossil fuel is used. Large infrastructure development projects are very costly and therefore external investors needs to be involved. The investors play an important role in changing the usage of fossil fuels towards renewable energy sources. This thesis includes a study of three investment companies, the European Investment Bank, the Nordic Investment Bank and Swedish Export Credit and their motives to finance district heating based on renewable energy. How do the investors value environmental and sustainability aspects in a project and how do the values differ? We made qualitative interviews and then we analyzed our material out of theoretical framework based on institutional theory. The material was also analyzed through an ecological economics perspective, which is the author's academic background. The result of the study shows that the investors interest in a project depend on political, economical and environmental aspects.
Sustainability aspects proved to be of major importance for the potential investors since the usage of renewable energy fast is becoming a global priority.