China becomes one of the largest investors in renewable energy projects, according to a report released Tuesday in Frankfurt.

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

This is the firt time that developing countries surpapssed the developed counterparts in the value of major "green" projects in 2010,the report "Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2011" said.

Renewable energy industry showed a boom last year, with a record $211 billion worldwide flowing into the sector, 30 percent higher on a year-to-year basis, according to the report.

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

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 indicated 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.