Advanced energy market tops size of airline industry

March 12, 2015 | By

At nearly $1.3 trillion in estimated global revenue for 2014, the market for advanced energy products and services is as large as apparel and fashion, and almost four times the size of the semiconductor industry worldwide. That is according to a new report conducted by Navigant Research for Advanced Energy Economy (AEE), a national business association.

Caption: Advanced Energy Growth. Credit: AEE/Navigant Research

In the United States, advanced energy market was an estimated $199.5 billion market in 2014 with revenue up 14 percent from 2013 -- growing at five times the rate of the U.S. economy overall -- to just under $200 billion, making it bigger than the airline industry, equal to pharmaceuticals, and nearly equal to consumer electronics.

Specifically, solar energy grew 39 percent and natural gas generating equipment grew 48 percent to $6.4 billion in long-anticipated response to lower-priced natural gas supplies, signaling that the natural gas revolution is now translating into new orders, not just higher utilization of existing natural gas power plants.

Wind power, which suffered a severe setback in 2013 due to the on-again, off-again federal production tax credit (PTC), rebounded in 2014 with four-fold growth, to $8.2 billion, and a pipeline of projects that could result in revenue rivaling the $25 billion realized in 2012, its biggest year to date.

U.S. advanced energy revenue has grown 38 percent from 2011 to 2014 and now represents 15 percent of the world market. Further, 2014 was the biggest year of growth for advanced energy worldwide since 2011 (when AEE began tracking the markets), with global revenue up 12 percent over 2013.

"This report shows that advanced energy is a vibrant industry that is driving economic growth," said Graham Richard, CEO of AEE. "Across the country and around the world, advanced energy companies are delivering technologies and services that make the energy we use secure, clean, and affordable. AEE is committed to bringing together business leaders and policy makers to accelerate the progress of this industry."

For more:
- download the report 

 

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