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Alternative sources industry comprises companies that operate by generating energy sources derived from various forms of sources such as biomass, biofuel, biodiesel, biogas and ethanol. In the latest developments, with the help technologies and innovation, alternative sources industry has made sure that the limit of deriving energy and converting and supplying it to other form is vast and broad, and it can be sustainable and reusable for a long period of time to come. Renewable energy is the most important and necessary fuel resource in the world currently with the carbon emission rising at a rapid rate, therefore the alternative sources industry is gripping hard and working towards sustainability and preservation.

Renewable energy development is becoming more complex as renewable increase their share in the global power mix. Challenges have emerged in some regions since the MTRMR 2012. Despite remaining high, global new investment in renewable energy fell in 2012. Policy uncertainties continued to cloud the investment outlook for some key markets. In some countries, investment moderated in the face of macroeconomic uncertainties and incentive reductions, particularly in countries with strong deployment of solar photovoltaic (PV). In some areas, integration challenges from higher penetrations of variable renewable emerged. Meanwhile, renewable faced strong competition from other energy sources in some markets, for example natural gas in the United States. In addition, manufacturing industries for renewable, particularly solar PV and wind, entered a more intense period of restructuring and consolidation.

Compared to the same time frame in 2012, overall renewable energy production, including conventional hydro-power, was 2.00% higher while production from non-hydro renewable grew by 4.13%. Specifically, solar grew by 32.46% in 2013, wind by 20.14%, geothermal by 0.89%, and biomass by 0.42%. Hydro-power slipped by 2.59% and biofuels by 5.92%. Among the renewable energy sources, hydro-power’s share during the first half of 2013 was 30.18%, biomass 25.26%, biofuels 20.18%, wind 18.80%, solar 3.19%, and geothermal 2.39%. Over the past decade, domestic energy production from wind has increased by a factor of nearly 16 while output from both biofuels and solar is now about five times higher than in 2003. Geothermal has also grown by about 30% while biomass and hydro-power have remained largely unchanged.

Current Trends in Alternative Energy Sources Market

The global renewable energy industry had revenue in excess of $322 billion last year, according to MarketLine. The worldwide market for renewable energy is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate of close to 8.5%, bringing it to a value of almost $480 billion in 2015. This represents an almost 50% increase in five years in terms of revenue and more than a 25% rise in energy to over 4,200 billion kilowatt hours (kWh). Renewable energy is derived from natural resources including wind, tides and sunlight. It represents the fastest-growing sector among energy sources worldwide in terms of consumption, which is rising close to 3% annually. According to the International Energy Agency, renewable energy’s share of worldwide primary energy demand will rise to 10% over the next two decades, up from 7% in 2006 thanks to falling costs and government legislative measures regarding environmental protection. Electricity from renewable energy is estimated to reach almost 25% in 2030, up from under 20% in 2006. Renewable-based electricity generation is expected to be second only to coal by 2015.

More than 7% of the world’s demand for heating should be met by solar thermal, biomass, and geothermal together combined in 2030, according to the IEA. Investment in renewable sources of energy to 2030 is estimated to hit $5.5 trillion, representing almost 50% of electricity generation investment. Together, the UK, France, Germany, Japan and the US represent the lion’s share of the global renewable energy market. China dominates in the wind energy market. The US market was worth almost $8.5 billion in 2010, representing 84 billion kWh. Wind energy industry growth is expected to slow to just over a 18% compound annual growth rate from 2010 to 2015, bringing the industry almost $19.5 billion in value by 2015.

Major Alternative Energy Sources Industry Players

Major players in the alternative sources industry include GE Energy, Sharp Solar, Algal Biomass Organization, Siemens, AltE, AEG Power Solutions, Applied Energy Technologies, First Solar, Gamesa and Q-CellsÌý