RENEWABLE ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES MARKET ANALYSIS

Renewable energy technologies convert the energy that is collected from renewable sources of energy such as the Sun, wind waves, and geothermal energy amongst others into electricity, fuel, and heat. Renewable energy technologies are used for vital purposes such as generation of electricity, especially for rural electrification in emerging economies such as India and China amongst others, for heating and cooling of water, and for transportation. Sources of renewable energy are present in most of the geographical areas, as compared to non-renewable sources of energy, which are present only in few countries in limited quantities. Renewable energy, being an efficient source of energy, is widely being adopted. Thus, various countries are entering into energy security agreements so as to protect the environment and boost the economic growth. The consumption of renewable energy is rapidly increasing and this could lead to a decrease in the consumption of coal and oil by 2020. Renewable energy is expected to play an important role in the near future, owing to the increasing demand for energy globally.

Market Dynamics

• The changing climatic conditions that has resulted in global warming, unstable oil prices, and increasing government support for the use of renewable sources of energy are spurring renewable energy legislations, incentives provided by governments, and commercialization of these sources of energy. Rising government spending, regulations associated with the use of non-renewable sources of energy, and policies are some of the major factors that are expected to drive growth of the renewable energy technologies market. According to a 2016 projection by the International Energy Agency (IEA), solar energy is expected to meet most of the global electricity demand in the next 50 years, thus reducing the greenhouse gas emissions from non-renewable sources of energy that harm the environment.
• High costs associated with the installation of devices such as solar panel is expected to hinder growth of the renewable energy technologies market globally. For instance, in the case of geothermal energy, unavailability of land and seasonal imbalances are factors that may affect growth of the market.

Market Trends

• The solar energy segment is expected to be the most dominant technology type in the global renewable energy technology market over the forecast period. This is due to the surplus availability of sunlight and the ease with, which the sunlight can be converted into energy with the help of modules. Hence, many economies are harnessing solar energy to meet their energy requirements. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), China installed around 34 GW of solar based modules in 2016 so as to become a leading player in this segment. Furthermore, according to the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan witnessed growth of approximately 4.3% in solar energy production in 2016. The European Union aims on meeting approximately 12% of its energy requirements by using solar energy by the year 2020.

Market Outlook

• The IEA expects renewable energy to equal coal and natural gas electricity generation costs by 2040. A number of countries such as Denmark, Australia, Germany, and the U.S.  are increasingly adopting renewable sources of energy, in order to suffice the energy demands. For instance, according to the IEA, in 2015, wind energy met around 42% of the total electricity demand in Denmark, 23.2% in Portugal, and 15.5% in Uruguay. Solar water heaters play an important role in contributing towards the adoption of renewable energy for heating, with China contributing to around 70% of the global total of solar water systems. Globally, the solar water heating systems meet a portion of the water heating needs of over 70 million households.
• At the national level, numerous government policies play a vital role in the development and adoption of renewable energy technologies, although uncertainty in adoption of the policies hampers the growth of the market. The number of countries that have pledged to meet renewable energy targets and support policies again increased in 2016 from 173 to 176. By the end of 2016, the top countries with completely installed renewable energy capacity included China, the U.S., Brazil, and Germany. China  was  home  to  more  than one-quarter of the world’s renewable power capacity standing at 564 GW

Key Players

Major players operating in the renewable energy technology market include Innergex Renewable Energy Inc, Infigen Energy, Goldwind, First Solar, Inc., Aventine Renewable Anwell Technologies Ltd., SunPower Corporation, Yingli Green Energy Holding Co, LTD., Vestas Wind Systems A/S, SMA Solar Technology, AG, and Ocean Power Technologies, Inc. amongst others

Market Taxonomy

On the basis of energy type, the global renewable energy technologies market is segmented into:

• Solar
• Wind
• Tidal
• Geothermal
• Hydroelectric
• Others

On the basis of application, the global renewable energy technologies market is segmented into:

• Residential
• Non-Residential
• Others

On the basis of region, the global renewable energy technologies market is segmented into:

• North America
• Europe
• Asia Pacific
• Latin America
• Middle East
• Africa

Key Developments:

Key companies operating in the renewable energy technologies market are undertaking various strategic alliances such as collaboration deals and plant capacity expansions to survive in the competitive business environment and expand their business presence across the globe.

In May 2018, ReNew Power, Indian renewable energy project developer has acquired 100% stake in Indian Energy Limited (IEL) for value of US$ 5.545 million.

Additionally, in April 2018, ReNew announced the acquisition of Ostro Energy Private Limited, independent power producer and wholly own subsidiary of Infrastructure India Plc (IIP Group). This transaction was one of the largest renewable energy acquisition deals in India and increased the operational wind power generation capacity of ReNew Power to 1,800 MW.

In July 2019, National Grid completes the acquisition of North America-based leading energy developer, Geronimo Energy for US$ 100 million. Geronimo Energy was founded in 2004 and has developed over 2,200 megawatts of solar and wind energy projects which are currently under construction or are operational.