Clean-energy business grows 11 percent in 2009

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The clean energy business grew more than 11 percent in 2009, despite a continued recession, according to the annual Clean Energy Trends Report, released Tuesday by Portland-based research and publishing firm Clean Edge.

Combined, solar photovoltaics, wind power and biofuels are now a $139.1 billion global business, up 11.4 percent from 2008.

“Despite severe economic conditions, clean-energy markets were able to hold their momentum in 2009 as many regional and federal governments and private corporations focused on clean-energy investments as a way to pull out of the global economic tailspin,” said Ron Pernick, Clean Edge co-founder and managing director, in a news release.

In the United States, clean energy benefited from federal stimulus funding, augmenting private investment in startups.

Key findings of the report:

• The global production and wholesale pricing of ethanol and biodiesel reached $44.9 billion in 2009 and is projected to grow to $112.5 billion by 2019. In 2009, the biofuel market consisted of more than 23.6 billion gallons of ethanol and biodiesel production worldwide.

• Investment in wind power infrastructure is projected to expand from $63.5 billion in 2009 to $114.5 billion in 2019. Last year’s global wind power installations reached a record 37,500 megawatts, enough to power between 8.4 million and 11.2 million homes. China, the first-time global leader in new installations, accounted for more than a third of new installations, with 13,000 megawatts.

• Solar power will grow from a $30.7 billion industry in 2009 to $98.9 billion by 2019. New installations reached almost 6 gigawatts worldwide in 2009, a nearly sixfold increase from five years earlier and enough to power between 900,000 and 1.2 million homes. But because of rapidly declining solar prices, industry revenue in 2009 fell about 20 percent, from $38.5 billion in 2008.

• U.S.-based venture capital investments in clean-energy technologies declined from $3.2 billion in 2008 to $2.2 billion in 2009. However, clean energy’s percentage of total U.S. venture capital investments continued to rise, accounting for 12.5 percent of total activity in 2009. This represented the largest share in the history of the clean-energy asset class.

• The global solar photovoltaic and wind power industries together account for more than 830,000 jobs. By 2019, global industry growth will push the total to more than 3.3 million jobs.

In the report’s “trends to watch” section, biomass was highlighted. The report cites a figure from the U.S. Departments of Energy and Agriculture that estimates that biomass, the practice of using wood and agriculture waste to produce heat and electricity, can supply up to 5 percent of U.S. energy needs by 2020.

“Some industry analysts have projected that the number could be far greater,” the report states, “with the potential for biomass to sustainably provide up to 20 percent of total U.S. electricity generation.”

Biomass is a hot topic in Oregon where sustainable forest management has made woody biomass an attractive alternative energy source.

In January, Portland General Electric Company officials said they were considering biomass as a replacement feedstock for the Boardman coal-fired plant.

Other trends to watch identified in the report include using concrete as a carbon-capture vehicle; the declining price of solar panels, big clean-tech developments such as Masdar City in Abu Dahbi; and the rise of high-speed rail.

Download the full Clean Energy Trends report via the company website.