Clean Energy Markets to Grow to More than $225 billion by 2016

Global clean-energy markets are poised to quadruple in the next decade, growing from $55.4 billion in revenues in 2006 to more than $226.5 billion by 2016 for four benchmark technologies, according to the sixth annual Clean Energy Trends report. The free report, “Clean Energy Trends 2007,”  can be downloaded at www.cleanedge.com.

For the second year in a row, the global biofuels market was slightly larger than both solar and wind, reaching $20.5 billion in 2006 and projected to grow to more than $80 billion by 2016. Clean Edge projects solar photovoltaics (modules, system components, and installations) will grow from a $15.6 billion market in 2006 to $69.3 billion by 2016; wind power installations will expand from $17.9 billion in 2006 to $60.8 billion in 2016; and the markets for fuel cells and distributed hydrogen will grow from $1.4 billion in 2006 to $15.6 billion over the next decade.

“Clean Energy Trends 2007” also names five key trends that are shaping the clean-energy landscape this year. They include:

• Carbon Finally Has a Price … and a Market
• Biorefineries Begin to Close the Loop
• Advanced Battery Makers Take Charge
• Wal-Mart Becomes a Clean-Energy Market Maker
• Utilities Get Enlightened

It is interesting to see how close in size the biofuels, solar and wind markets are projected to be and how relatively small the fuel cell/hydrogen market will be. It is also further evidence that fuel cells/hydrogen market will not be a significant factor in this time period and more reason to put more emphasis on the other technologies.