With oil prices soaring on the region's turmoil, alternative energy such as wind is again gaining attention. But wind technology hasn't been standing still: Its power output worldwide jumped by 22% last year. However, it's still nowhere near ready to compete with oil.
In a sign that large fossil-fuel power plants may be falling out of favor, French engineering company Alstom on Monday announced plans to cut 4,000 jobs in the next 17 months. Alstom cited low demand for its coal and natural-gas plants. Its renewable-energy operations won't be affected by the cuts.
Despite the world's economic woes, the global clean-energy market grew in 2009, becoming a $139.1 billion industry and the largest venture-capital category. Even so, solar revenues fell because of plunging prices.
Larger government subsidies, rising electricity costs, fewer regulatory burdens and lower prices for these small systems are all converging to generate demand. More access to favorable financing may create the most powerful tailwind.
