The $53.1bn of investment tracked by BNEF’s analysts in the January-March period was 12% lower than the same period in 2015, and 22% down on the final quarter of last year.

The biggest factor was a 37% year-on-year and 50% sequential fall in Chinese activity, which BNEF said was the dip after last year's scramble by developers to get their wind and solar projects into play before the expiry of beneficial tariff rates.

The