Last year, revenues in the biofuels, wind power, fuel cells and solar photovoltaics industries were $77 billion, up 40 percent from $55 billion in 2006, Clean Edge said.
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Revenues in four key alternative energy sectors -- including biofuels and wind power -- will more than triple to $254.5 billion by 2017, market research firm Clean Edge said on Tuesday.
Last year, revenues in the biofuels, wind power, fuel cells and solar photovoltaics industries were $77 billion, up 40 percent from $55 billion in 2006, Clean Edge said.
"Amid last year's plummeting housing prices, rising foreclosure rates, and record high oil prices, clean energy continued to provide a bright spot in an otherwise sluggish economy," Clean Edge Principal Ron Pernick said in a statement.
Global production of biofuels -- including 13 billion gallons of ethanol and more than 2 billion gallons of biodiesel -- reached $25.4 billion last year. It is projected to reach $81.1 billion by 2017.
!ADVERTISEMENT!The market for wind power is expected to rise to $83.4 billion in 2017 from $30.1 billion last year. Wind power installations reached 20,000 megawatts in 2007, or about the equivalent of 20 conventional power plants.
Sales of solar photovoltaic panels and components were $20.3 billion in 2007 and are expected to triple to $74 billion by 2017. Solar installations were just shy of 3,000 MW worldwide last year.
(Reporting by Nichola Groom; editing by Gunna Dickson)
