by Shane Henson — July 18, 2011—Three 2010 market reports that illustrate growth and deployment in wind power, advanced vehicles, and fuel cell technologies were recently released by the Department of Energy (DOE). Taken together, the reports highlight improving U.S. global competitiveness in the clean energy economy while creating cleantech jobs.
The 2010 Wind Technologies Market Report, produced by DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), analyzes trends in wind power capacity, manufacturing, performance, and costs. Wind energy installations comprised 25% of new U.S. electricity capacity additions in 2010, representing $11 billion in new investments, LBNL’s report said. The newest wind installations created enough new capacity to power roughly 1.3 million homes. The report also notes that U.S. manufacturing of wind turbine components continues to increase, with domestically produced goods used in U.S. wind power projects reaching approximately 68% in 2009-2010, up from 52% in 2005-2006.
The 2010 Fuel Cell Technologies Market Report, produced by the Breakthrough Technologies Institute, provides an overview of trends in the fuel cell industry, including product shipments, market development, and corporate performance. The report indicates continued growth in commercial deployments, especially material handling equipment, combined heat and power, and back-up and auxiliary power unit applications. Commercial sales continue to grow as the number of fuel cell units shipped from North America quadrupled between 2008 and 2010.
Earlier this year, DOE and its Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) released the 2010 Vehicle Technologies Market Report, which documents trends in fuel efficiency, component suppliers, and the overall market for alternative fuel vehicles. The report finds that in the past five years, car manufacturers have produced cars that are more energy efficient, incorporated innovative lightweight materials, built cleaner-burning engines, and deployed new hybrid electric systems that reduce fossil fuels use. The report also predicts that the number of hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and plug-in HEVs will rise significantly with increases in production, particularly in battery manufacturing.
