March 13, 2012
Solar PV, Wind, and Biofuel Markets Grow 31 Percent to $246.1 Billion in 2011
Read Clean Edge’s Latest Clean Energy Trends Report
The 11th annual edition of the Clean Energy Trends report analyzes clean-energy activity in the U.S. and abroad. The full report, a must read for industry stakeholders and downloaded by tens of thousands annually, can be viewed in full here.
The report includes growth forecasts and market sizing for the major clean-energy sectors (solar PV, wind, and biofuels), as well as detailed analysis of solar PV pricing, public market activity and performance, venture capital investments, and emerging industry trends.
The report’s key findings include:
The global market for solar photovoltaics increased from $71.2 billion in 2010 to $91.6 billion in 2011. While total market revenues were up 29 percent, installations climbed more than 69 percent from 15.6 gigawatts in 2010 to more than 26 GW worldwide last year due to rapidly declining solar costs.
Last year?s global wind power installations equaled 41.6 GW, the largest year for global installations on record. Wind power totaled a record $71.5 billion in 2011, up 18 percent from $60.5 billion the prior year, and is projected to reach $116.3 billion in 2021.
Biofuels reached a record $83 billion in 2011, up from $56.4 billion the prior year. Bucking solar and wind?s declining cost trends, this increase was mostly due to a rise in ethanol and biodiesel prices, the result of higher costs for feedstock commodities.
Clean Edge projects that the cost to install solar PV systems will fall from an average of $3.47 per watt globally in 2011 to $1.28 within the next decade.
U.S.-based venture capital investments in clean tech increased 30 percent from $5.1 billion in 2010 to $6.6 billion in 2011, according to data provided by Cleantech Group. Clean Edge analysis found that clean-tech?s percentage of total U.S. venture capital investments accounted for a record 23.2 percent of total U.S. venture activity last year.
Combined solar PV, wind, and biofuel markets reached almost a quarter trillion dollars in 2011.
This year?s report also outlines five key trends that will impact clean-energy markets in 2012 and beyond:
1. The Few, The Proud, The Green: Military Leads Clean-Energy Deployment
2. Japan Moves Toward Cleaner Post-Nuclear Future
3. Deep Commercial Building Retrofits Reap Major Efficiency Savings
4. Waste-to-Resource Breakthroughs Attract Attention ? and Investment
5. New Energy Storage Solutions Embolden the Grid
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About Clean Energy Trends 2012
Clean Edge issues its annual Clean Energy Trends report to track key developments in clean-energy markets. Past reports have been downloaded by tens of thousands of individuals in government, finance, industry, and the media. Authored by Clean Edge staff Ron Pernick, Clint Wilder, and Trevor Winnie, Clean Energy Trends 2012 is made possible by the support of its sponsors, including premier sponsors Autodesk, Cascadia Capital, Deloitte, and Travelers and major sponsors E2, Grant Thornton, Mintz Levin, and Weber Shandwick.