Clean & Renewable Energy Disruption – Potential opportunity worth USD 170 Bn is expected to open up in the clean & renewable energy space, owing to the countries setting net zero targets and rapid renewable capacity additions, which are poised to be the next big trend. As per the sources,

  • The annual global demand for biofuels is estimated to grow to 186 Bn liters by 2026, resulting in 28% growth from present demand.
  • Global renewable energy capacity estimated to rise by 60% from 2020 to 2026, reaching more than 4800 GW.
  • Offshore wind capacity forecast to reach 21 GW by 2026, which is triple the current capacity.
  • Onshore wind additions to increase by 25% from 2021 to 2026 compared to 2015-2020 levels.
  • The US forecast is expected to add over 200 GW renewable energy capacity from 2021 to 2026, resulting in 65% increase in renewable capacity and becoming the third largest market after China and Europe.

According to MarketsandMarkets analysis,

  • Offshore wind market is estimated to grow at a healthy CAGR of 12-13% in the coming 5 years, driven by favorable government policies and rising investments in renewables.
  • Clean & renewable energy market is expected to offer ~USD 170 Bn potential, over half of which is being contributed by solar photovoltaics driven by ground-mounted PV.
  • Adjacent markets hold a potential of over USD 140 Bn in the clean & renewable energy space, majority of which will be contributed by digital utility market and residential energy storage.
  • The clean energy market is witnessing an increased adoption of IoT solutions, grid decarbonization, and grid digitization, which can disrupt the demand for renewables, in turn impacting the growth of the market.

Unknowns & Adjacencies

Currently, businesses have low access to primary intelligence to clarify some unknowns and adjacencies in these opportunity areas –

  • The global renewable energy generation capacity of 290 GW was added in 2021 which is 3% higher than the installations in 2020.
  • The global renewable energy capacity is expected to reach more than 4800 GW by 2026 projecting an increase of over 60% from 2020 to 2026.
  • China, US, India, Germany, Japan. Brazil, Spain, France, Korea, and Australia are the top 10 countries for clean & renewable energy capacity, and they account for 80% of the renewable capacity growth from 2021-2026.
  • Solar PV accounts for 60% of the renewable capacity additions owing to the policy initiatives in China, EU, and India which are facilitating the deployment of commercial & residential projects.
  • Adjacent markets such as energy storage, and renewable drones, to provide immense growth opportunities.

Some of the growth problems encountered by clean & renewable energy providers are:

Customer prioritization and assessing unmet needs:

  • What are the disruptions in our clients’ businesses? How can we support them for our own growth?
  • Who are the most potential customers going forward?
  • What are the key unmet needs of customers? Who are the key stakeholders in different settings? Do vendor selection criteria differ by settings? Which new product features should be added to the existing products?

Where to play:

  • Which technology should we focus on? Should it be solar, wind, biomass, or any other?
  • Which regions should we place our bets on? Should we continue with developed countries or do developing countries offer more growth opportunities?

Building a compelling Right-to-Win (RTW):

  • Should we enter new markets directly or through partners?
  • How can we differentiate from top players? What is their right-to-win vs ours?

Key uncertainties/perspectives which industry leaders seek answers to:

For clean & renewable energy companies:

  • What are the customer needs and requirements? What are some of the unmet needs? Rate and rank various purchase criteria:
    • Product/service features
    • Quality
    • Innovation
    • Price
    • Brandin
  • Gap analysis between the client’s product offerings and customer needs. What changes or innovations could the client focus on?
  • How are other peers realizing their diversification goals of shifting from conventional energy production to other cleaner forms of production?
  • What are the various renewable technologies that are at different stages of maturity?
  • Which renewable technology should we integrate into our portfolio that offers best RoI, and long-term technology advantage?
  • What are the various innovative technology solution providers that we can acquire, and where? Who can we partner with to offer best customer services?

For Companies in adjacent markets:

  • Not able to keep pace with fast evolving energy storage industry and new technologies are emerging leading to increasing government initiatives. What are the key regulations surrounding energy storage?
  • Major market trends and dynamic – How is client’s current business position and strategy aligned with industry dynamics, disruptions, and opportunities?
  • What are the key components that the clients are keen?
  • When energy storage tipping point can be achieved?
  • Competitive landscape and market share rankings – Assessment of Client’s competitive position and product offerings vs. major competitors.
  • What should be our key differentiations/ Value Proposition in company’s offerings?
  • Many start-ups and emerging companies eating up market share of established companies. Which are the key regions for energy storage?

Therefore, MarketsandMarkets research and analysis focuses on high growth and niche markets – such as solar back-sheet, renewable drones, concentrating solar power, and related markets, which will become ~80% of the revenues of the players in the clean & renewables ecosystem over the next 5-6 years.