2009-11-25 17:09:07 - Recently published research from Business Insights, "Green Energy in the US: Renewable investment, capacity growth and future outlook", is now available at Fast Market Research

US electrical production capacity and generation has had historically an energy mix consisting primarily of fossil fuels including gas, coal and oil, backed up with a volume of nuclear and hydro power. With the new presidency have come new decisions. The US department of energy announced massive investment the renewable industry including $60bn in clean energy investments, which will include $11bn in a smart grid system, $2bn in developing the next generation of energy storage batteries. An announced move away from corn-based ethanol fuel and $1.8bn investment in the next generation of biofuels will stimulate the vehicular fuel industry, towards a cleaner, more efficient system. The new administration has announced intention to develop available offshore renewable energy source located on

the continental shelf area. The area has vast potential and scientists estimate that 900GW of wind power may be achieved.

Although still primarily a conventional thermal based country, through incentivized support in renewable energy, a new energy market is beginning to evolve. Recent addition has been made to the energy mix by way of renewable energy technologies which include power from the wind - wind turbines, and power from the sun - solar cells, and geothermal - relying on the heat that can be found at varying degrees of depth into the Earth’s surface. In the last decade newly installed renewable energy technologies are starting to gain a notable share of the market. This report documents the growth of this new market, showing its current status and projecting where it is likely to grow to in the foreseeable future. This document gathers the statistical data on the different types of energy generation, combines and contrasts them against each other to show the clear leaders, drivers to change and future growth.

Scope of this report

-Analysis of energy type volumes, capacity installed and generation output across the US.
-Market projections to 2020, including an evaluation of energy type and national growth potential.
-Overview of trends impacting on and shaping innovation in the energy market.
-New renewable energy technology analysis including innovation, capacity investment.
-Insight relating to the most innovative product launches and potential areas of opportunity for manufacturers.
-Examination of the key technology introductions and innovations
-Identification of the key trends shaping the market, as well as an evaluation of emerging trends that will drive innovation moving forward.

Key market issues addressed

Environmental regulations: Imminent environmental targets set to control Carbon dioxide emissions in the US using a cap and trade mechanism are creating a path for lower carbon emitting power generation technologies. Recent capacity investment has focused on wind turbines, gas and solar photovoltaic installations.
Renewable Electricity market incentives: The US is has in place state level Renewable energy Production Standards and the Production Tax Credit which promote the development of renewable energy projects across the country, and are responsible for robust incentivized growth.
Energy efficiency:- The current electrical infrastructure experiences substantial energy loss from generation to transmission to load delivery. A more efficient system is required, a network that can take advantage of the intermittent supply nature of wind and solar - and balance these with the more constant and reliable conventional thermal generation, geothermal, hydroelectric and nuclear power. Recent US policy has awarded investment into an intelligent grid system. The US has also announced energy efficiency measures to include appliances, vehicles and power plants.
Energy security:- Oil, coal and gas supply and pricing structures are volatile and uncontrollable, due to the majority imported from non-US countries. This volatility is likely to increase as reserves of the natural resources decline.
Centralized network to distributed:- the changeover to renewable technologies is a changeover to a distributed energy system, as renewable energy technologies take advantage of natural resources such as wind, solar or thermal energy which are more concentrated in specific geographical locations.

Key findings from this report

In terms of new capacity installed during 2008, the US was the largest market with 8,346.0MW, followed by China (6,300.0MW), then India (1,800.0MW), then Germany (1,665.0MW), then Spain (1,609.0 MW), and Italy (1,010.0 MW).
Out of the 5,568MW of global capacity which was installed during 2008, Spain grid-connect PV market accounted for 45.1%, Germany accounted for 26.9% and US accounted for 6.1%.
Hydropower accounts for approximately 5.8% of world electricity supply. In 2008, the total world’s hydroelectricity consumption was 3,170.9TWH. The US ranked fourth with a consumption of 250.6TWH in 2008.
the US is the world leader in geothermal energy and, at the end of 2008, had cumulative installed capacity of 3,040.3MW.
In 2008, the total generation of electricity in the US was 4,110bn KWH. Generation of electricity in the US is dominated by coal. During 2008, 48.5% of the total US electric power was generated at coal-fired plants. Natural gas-fired plants contributed 21.3% to the total US electricity generation followed by nuclear plants with 19.6%.

Key questions answered by this report

What are the drivers shaping and influencing new capacity installed in the energy industry?
How will renewable energy technologies capacity share perform to 2020? What are the opportunities?
What are the forecast market growth rates 2008-2030? Which markets will see the highest value growth and which the highest volume growth?
Which states and regions offer the greatest opportunity for growth?
Which renewable energy technology types will be the winners and which the losers in terms of volume growth to 2030?
Which energy types are likely to find favor with manufacturers moving forward?
Which emerging technologies are gaining in popularity and why?


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