
There has been an increased emphasis on the need for green, renewable and sustainable energy sources globally. There is a clear relationship between economic growth and electricity demand and the emerging economies are anticipated to become the major consumers of electricity as their economy advances. High dependency on conventional energy sources to fulfill this growth in demand of electricity would prove unsustainable. This has created the need to diversify energy portfolio mix. Further, growing concern to protect the environment from pollutants such as greenhouse gases and issues related to energy security is leading to growth in demand for green energy sources. Various factors driving the growth of green energy include environment concerns, government regulations and initiatives, coal plant retirements, need for natural gas hedging, rising demand for energy and fuel shortage/replacement. Market drivers vary across geographies. For instance, climate changes, environment and energy security are key factors for growth of green energy in Europe. In Japan and the U.S., energy security is the major factor driving demand for renewable energy. Economic development and higher demand for energy access are the major forces driving the market in developing economies. In the recent years, annual investments in green energy have been significantly high, indicating the momentum gained by the market. Further, a shift towards greener energy resources in the energy sector would lead to demand for newer technologies, processes and services. This represents an attractive opportunity for industry participants. Over the coming years, ambitious energy policies combined with much lower technology costs would continue to drive the growth of green energy market.