Renewable energy industry: Difference between revisions
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===Trends=== |
===Trends=== |
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Although the [[wind power industry]] will be impacted by the [[Late 2000s recession|global financial crisis]] in 2009 and 2010, a [[BTM Consult]] five year forecast up to 2013 projects substantial growth. Over the past five years the average growth in new installations has been 27.6 per cent each year. In the forecast to 2013 the expected average annual growth rate is 15.7 per cent.<ref name=re>[http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2009/03/btm-forecasts-340-gw-of-wind-by-2013?src=rss BTM Forecasts 340-GW of Wind Energy by 2013]</ref><ref name=bt>BTM Consult (2009). [http://www.btm.dk/documents/pressrelease.pdf International Wind Energy Development World Market Update 2009]</ref> More than 200 GW of new wind power capacity could come on line before the end of 2013. Wind power market penetration is expected to reach 3.35 per cent by 2013 and 8 per cent by 2018.<ref name=re/><ref name=bt/> |
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Wind power capacity increased more than any other renewable power technology in 2007, with an estimated 21 GW added, which represented a 28 percent increase over 2006.<ref name=wind>[[REN21]] (2008). [http://www.worldwatch.org/files/pdf/renewables2007.pdf Renewables 2007 Global Status Report (PDF)] p. 10.</ref> In 2007, the wind power industry saw an increase in wind manufacturing facilities in the United States, India, and China, which broadened the manufacturing base away from traditional markets in Europe. 2007 showed a boost for China and India, which export components and turbines.<ref name=global/> |
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Offshore wind power installations are |
Offshore wind power installations are emerging, and recent years have seen several hundred megawatts added annually, mostly in Europe.<ref name=wind/> |
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==Photovoltaics== |
==Photovoltaics== |
Revision as of 21:00, 30 March 2009
The present-day renewable energy industry is an energy industry focusing on "new" and "appropriate" renewable energy technologies, which excludes large-scale hydro-electricity. Investors worldwide have paid much greater attention to this emerging renewable energy industry in recent years. In many cases, this has translated into rapid renewable energy commercialization and considerable industry expansion. The wind power and solar photovoltaics (PV) industries provide good examples of this.
Leading renewable energy companies include Acciona, Enercon, Gamesa, GE Energy, Q-Cells, Sharp Solar, SunOpta, Suntech, and Vestas.[2] Several renewable energy companies have recently gone through high profile Initial Public Offerings, including Aventine (USA), First Solar (USA), Iberdrola (Spain), and VeraSun Energy (USA).[3]
Overview
By mid-2007, some 140 publicly-traded renewable energy companies worldwide (or renewable energy divisions of major companies) each had a market capitalization greater than $40 million. (The number of companies in this category jumped from about 85 in mid-2006.) The estimated total market capitalization of these companies and divisions was more than $100 billion in mid-2007.[3]
During 2006/2007, several renewable energy companies went through high profile Initial Public Offerings (IPOs), resulting in market capitalization near or above $1 billion. These corporations included the solar PV companies First Solar (USA), Trina Solar (USA), Centrosolar (Germany), and Renesola (U.K.), wind power company Iberdrola (Spain), and U.S. biofuels producers VeraSun Energy, Aventine, and Pacific Ethanol.[3]
Continued growth for the renewable energy sector is expected in the mid- to long-term, but 2009 will be a year of refocus, consolidation, or retrenchment for many companies. At the same time, new government spending, regulation, and policies should help the industry weather the current economic crisis better than many other sectors. Clean Edge suggests that the commercialization of clean energy will help countries around the world pull out of the current economic malaise.[4]
Wind power
In December 2008, worldwide capacity of wind power was 122,000 MW, of which 28,190 MW was capacity added in 2008.[5]
Companies
Currently three quarters of global wind turbine sales come from only four turbine manufacturing companies: Vestas, Gamesa, Enercon, and GE Energy.[6] With a 23% market share, Vestas is the largest supplier of modern wind turbines. Vestas has installed some 35,000 wind turbines in 63 countries on five continents. Vestas wind turbines generate more than 60 million MWh of energy per year: enough electricity to supply millions of households. Vestas is a Danish company which employs 14,000 people globally.[7]
Gamesa, founded in 1976 with headquarters in Bilbao, Spain, is currently the world's second largest wind turbine manufacturer,[2][8] after Vestas, and it is also a major builder of wind farms. Gamesa’s main markets are within Europe, the US and China. In 2006, Europe accounted for 65 percent of Gamesa’s sales, of which 40 percent were within Spain.[6]
In 2004, German company Enercon installed a total of 1,288 MW of wind power and had around 16% of the global market share. Enercon constructed production facilities in Brazil in 2006, and has extended its presence there, as well as in the more traditional markets of Germany, India, Austria, UK, Canada and the Netherlands.[2]
GE Energy has installed over 5,500 wind turbines and 3,600 hydro turbines, and its installed capacity of renewable energy worldwide exceeds 160,000 MW.[9] GE Energy bought out Enron Wind in 2002 and also has nuclear energy operations in its portfolio.[10]
Acciona Energy is a leader in the renewable energy sector and the company’s mission is to "demonstrate the technical and economic viability of a sustainable energy model".[11] Acciona Energy is the largest developer, owner and operator of wind farms in the world, with 164 wind farms in nine countries representing over 4,500 MW of wind power installed or under construction.[11]
Trends
Although the wind power industry will be impacted by the global financial crisis in 2009 and 2010, a BTM Consult five year forecast up to 2013 projects substantial growth. Over the past five years the average growth in new installations has been 27.6 per cent each year. In the forecast to 2013 the expected average annual growth rate is 15.7 per cent.[12][13] More than 200 GW of new wind power capacity could come on line before the end of 2013. Wind power market penetration is expected to reach 3.35 per cent by 2013 and 8 per cent by 2018.[12][13]
Offshore wind power installations are emerging, and recent years have seen several hundred megawatts added annually, mostly in Europe.[14]
Photovoltaics
Companies
Q-Cells became the world's largest solar cell maker in 2007, producing nearly 400 MW of product. Longtime market leader Sharp Corporation found itself in second place with production of 370 MW in 2007, which the company blamed on a constrained supply of silicon. China's Suntech was close behind the leaders with more than 300 MW of output. Kyocera and its 200 MW output was a distant fourth in 2007.[15]
Four new companies entered the top ranks in 2007. CdTe-cell maker First Solar was at fifth place, the only US-based and only thin-film supplier in the Top 10 companies. Asian players Motech Solar (Taiwan), Yingli Green Energy (China), and JA Solar Holdings (China/Australia) rounded out the Top 10 ranking, pushing aside some established players like Mitsubishi Electric, Schott, and BP Solar.[15]
Trends
Solar photovoltaics have been expanding rapidly, growing at an average of 40 percent per year since the beginning of this decade, albeit from a small base. In the past five years, global solar installations have expanded from approximately 600 MW in 2003 to nearly 3000 MW in 2008.[16]
During 2007, investment in new solar PV manufacturing facilities was strong in Europe, Japan, China, Chinese Taipei, and the United States, with many new operations reported. The solar PV industry also saw an increase in silicon production facilities around the world, which was a response to silicon feedstock shortages in recent years. Solar PV manufacturers were signing long-term contracts to ensure a growing supply, and many silicon manufacturers are announcing plans to build new plants. By the end of 2007, more than 70 silicon manufacturing facilities were being constructed or planned worldwide.[17]
According to a 2008 analysis by New Energy Finance (NEF), the cost of photovoltaic electricity is due to drop considerably in 2009. NEF's latest "Silicon and Wafer Price Index" shows average silicon contract prices falling by more than 30% in 2009, compared with 2008.[18]
Concentrating solar power
Since 2004 there has been renewed interest in concentrating solar power (CSP) and three plants were completed during 2006/2007: the 64 MW Nevada Solar One, a 1 MW trough plant in Arizona, and the 11 MW PS10 solar power tower in Spain. Three 50 MW trough plants were under construction in Spain at the end of 2007 with ten additional 50 MW plants planned. In the United States, utilities in California and Florida have announced plans (or contracted for) at least eight new projects totaling more than 2,000 MW. Companies involved in new projects include Abengoa Solar, Acciona, Ausra, BrightSource Energy, Iberdrola, Solar Millennium, and Stirling Energy Systems.[19]
Biofuels
In the ethanol fuel industry, the United States dominated, with 130 operating ethanol plants in 2007, and production capacity of 26 billion liters/year (6.87 billion gallons/year), a 60 percent increase over 2005. Another 84 plants were under construction or undergoing expansion, and this will result in a doubled production capacity. Brazil continued its ethanol expansion plans which began in 2005.[17]
The biodiesel industry opened many new production facilities during 2006/2007 and continued expansion plans in several countries. New biodiesel capacity appeared throughout Europe, including in Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.[17]
Commercial investment in second-generation biofuels began in 2006/2007, and much of this investment went beyond pilot-scale plants. The world’s first commercial wood-to-ethanol plant began operation in Japan in 2007, with a capacity of 1.4 million liters/year. The first wood-to-ethanol plant in the United States is planned for 2008 with an initial output of 75 million liters/year.[17]
Employment
Renewable energy use tends to be more labor-intensive than fossil fuels, and so a transition toward renewables promises employment gains. Globally, about 2.3 million people work either directly in renewables or indirectly in supplier industries. The wind power industry employs some 300,000 people, the PV sector accounts for an estimated 170,000 jobs, and the solar thermal industry accounts for about 624,000. More than 1 million jobs are located in the biomass and biofuels sector.[20]
See also
- List of concentrating solar thermal power companies
- List of countries by electricity production from renewable source
- List of the largest hydroelectric power stations
- List of large wind farms
- List of solar thermal power stations
- Renewable energy policy
- Sustainable industries
- The Clean Tech Revolution
References
- ^ REN21 (2008) Renewables 2007 Global Status Report (Paris: REN21 Secretariat and Washington, DC:Worldwatch Institute).
- ^ a b c Top of the list, Renewable Energy World, 2 January 2006.
- ^ a b c REN21 (2008). Renewables 2007 Global Status Report (PDF) p. 18.
- ^ Clean Edge (2009). Clean Energy Trends 2009 pp. 1-4.
- ^ BTM Consult (2009). International Wind Energy Development World Market Update 2009
- ^ a b Lewis, Joanna I. (2007). A Comparison of Wind Power Industry Development Strategies in Spain, India and China (PDF)
- ^ Vestas (2007). Vestas results Retrieved on 4 March 2008.
- ^ World Wind Energy Association (2007). Acquisition of REpower by Suzlon is important step in international cooperation Retrieved on 22 January 2008.
- ^ GE Energy (undated). GE Energy Retrieved on 22 January 2008.
- ^ Nuke Producer GE Energy Buys Solar Producer AstroPower Social Funds, 6 April 2004. Retrieved on 22 January 2008.
- ^ a b Waubra Wind Farm (2007). Acciona Energy Retrieved on 22 January 2008.
- ^ a b BTM Forecasts 340-GW of Wind Energy by 2013
- ^ a b BTM Consult (2009). International Wind Energy Development World Market Update 2009
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
wind
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b Explosive Growth Reshuffles Top 10 Solar Ranking
- ^ Utility Solar Assessment (USA) Study: Reaching Ten Percent Solar by 2025 p. 4
- ^ a b c d REN21 (2008). Renewables 2007 Global Status Report (PDF) p. 19.
- ^ PV Costs Set to Plunge for 2009/10 Renewable Energy World, 23 December 2008.
- ^ REN21 (2008). Renewables 2007 Global Status Report (PDF) p. 12 and 19.
- ^ Jobs in Renewable Energy Expanding
Bibliography
- International Energy Agency (2006). World Energy Outlook 2006: Summary and Conclusions, OECD, 11 pages.
- International Energy Agency (2007). Renewables in global energy supply: An IEA facts sheet, OECD, 34 pages.
- REN21 (2008). Renewables 2007 Global Status Report, Paris: REN21 Secretariat, 51 pages.
- United Nations Environment Program (2006). Changing climates: The Role of Renewable Energy in a Carbon-constrained World, January, 33 pages.
- United Nations Environment Programme and New Energy Finance Ltd. (2007). Global Trends in Sustainable Energy Investment 2007: Analysis of Trends and Issues in the Financing of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency in OECD and Developing Countries, 52 pages.
- Worldwatch Institute and Center for American Progress (2006). American energy: The renewable path to energy security, 40 pages.
External links
- Investors Pour Unprecedented Billions Into Renewable Energy
- Five Trends to Watch in the Renewable Energy Industry
- The Sunny Side of the Street: Investing in Solar
- Solar continues to shine despite the dark future
- Investment in Renewables Will Lead to US Economic Recovery, Leaders Say
- Optimism Abounds Throughout Renewable Energy Industry
- GE Energy turbine sales to grow fivefold in Europe