Report: Advanced Energy is a Nearly $1.3 Trillion Global Industry, as Big as Apparel and Almost Four Times Semiconductors Worldwide

March 10, 2015

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(Navigant Research) 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, according to a report commissioned by Advanced Energy Economy (AEE), a national business association. In the United States, advanced energy market revenue grew 14% last year – 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 in this country.

The study, conducted by Navigant Research, found that advanced energy in the United States was an estimated $199.5 billion market in 2014, up 14% from 2013 ($169 billion), and five times the rate of growth of the U.S. economy overall. Areas of growth included solar energy (up 39%) and natural gas generating equipment (48%), in long-anticipated response to lower-priced natural gas supplies. 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.

"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."

Advanced Energy Now 2015 Market Report is the third annual report of market size, by revenue, of the advanced energy industry, worldwide and in the United States, produced by Navigant Research for AEE. This year's report contains four years of revenue data, starting with 2011. Among the findings:

With global revenue up 12% over 2013, 2014 was the biggest growth year for advanced energy worldwide since AEE began tracking these markets in 2011.
U.S. advanced energy revenue has grown 38% over the four years from 2011 to 2014. U.S. advanced energy represents 15% of the world market.
With the addition of new revenue data on residential energy efficient lighting, Building Efficiency is now the largest segment of the U.S. advanced energy market, with revenue of $60.1 billion in 2014. Counting only those products for which AEE has four years of data, revenue growth in Building Efficiency is 43% over four years.
In 2013, the severe downturn in wind energy due to uncertainty over the federal production tax credit (PTC), with revenue dropping to $2.1 billion from $25.5 billion in 2012, was enough to offset growth in other segments of U.S. advanced energy to show an overall decline of 4% year over year. But wind bounced back in 2014, to $8.2 billion, nearly four times 2013 revenue.
Including wind, the Electricity Generation segment of advanced energy grew 47% overall in the U.S., to $45.8 billion in 2014. Solar photovoltaic (PV) revenue was up 39%, to $22.5 billion, capping four-year growth of 173%. Natural gas generating equipment (combined cycle and simple cycle gas turbines) saw an increase for the first time in four years, with U.S. revenue up 48% to $6.4 billion – a sign that the natural gas revolution is now translating into new orders, not just higher utilization of existing natural gas power plants.
The U.S. Fuel Production segment reached $49 billion in 2014, up from a revised 2013 total of $48.4 billion, with $39.1 billion of that total from sales of ethanol.
In Transportation, U.S. revenue for hybrid vehicles was down 19% but up 34% for plug-in electric vehicles, while natural gas-powered vehicles jumped 26% in revenue. Revenue from electric vehicle charging stations was up 31% in the U.S., to $201.5 million, up seven-fold from 2011.

In addition to the most comprehensive market data ever compiled, Advanced Energy Now 2015 Market Report contains 17 feature articles on significant trends and developments, ranging from "smart parking" systems and biofuels for specialized markets and emerging economies to industrial energy management and energy storage. The full Advanced Energy Now 2015 Market Report is available for download at http://info.aee.net/aen-2015-market-report.

"The growth in the advanced energy market in 2014 shows how important these technologies are today," said Deb Frodl, Global Executive Director, GE Ecomagination, and an AEE board member. "Advanced Energy Economy's work to make the global energy system more secure, clean and affordable has never been more needed."

"Solar energy is a huge success story, around the world and especially in the United States," said Howard Wenger, President, Business Units, SunPower Corp., and a board member of AEE. "From rooftops to utility installations, solar is a growth business in this country, and a vital part of the advanced energy economy being created here in the United States."

"The report reinforces what we've known for a long time," said Kevin Self, vice president strategy and corporate development, Johnson Controls. "Building Efficiency is a critical and important growth sector because the outcomes including reduced operating costs, reduced energy costs, greater reliability and resilience are in high demand."

"The rapid proliferation of Distributed Energy Resources, growing adoption of customer efficiency measures and increasing diversification of customer demand, have highlighted the need for a more flexible and agile distribution grid," said Naimish Patel, CEO of Gridco Systems. "As we continue to grow our US-based development and manufacturing, we remain singularly focused on partnering with leading utilities, both here and abroad, to increase renewable hosting capacity, improve grid reliability and efficiency, and deliver better power quality. This is just one way that the advanced energy market will continue to grow in 2015 and beyond."

"As this report shows, energy efficient lighting is a growing market in the United States and around the world," said John Pouland, Vice President, Government Affairs & Solutions, Philips Electronics, an AEE member company. "Philips is proud to be a contributor to the advanced energy economy that is being created by new energy solutions."

"Every year, Navigant Research produces dozens of in-depth reports as well as custom research services for leading utilities and companies on the most important trends in clean technology," said Dexter Gauntlett, senior research analyst for Navigant Research. "This report brings to bear the knowledge of all our experts to provide the most complete picture possible of this dynamic market. Our analysis shows that advanced energy is a significant sector of the economy in the United States and the world." READ MORE

Full Report: http://info.aee.net/aen-2015-market-report

Report Highlights Summary:
http://info.aee.net/hs-fs/hub/211732/file-2579243232-pdf/PDF/aen-2015-market-report-highlights.pdf

Data Charts:
http://info.aee.net/hubfs/docs/AEE-2015-market-report-graphs3.9.15.pdf