The overall trend for the clean-energy market continued to be one of growth and expansion in 2010. Combined global revenue for solar photovoltaics (PV), wind power and biofuels surged 35.2% over the prior year, from $139.1 billion to $188.1 billion, according to the Clean Energy Trends 2011 report issued by Clean Edge Inc., a research and advisory firm.

The bulk of this expansion came from a more than doubling in global solar PV installations and steady growth in the biofuels sector. For the first time since Clean Edge began tracking the wind power sector, however, the global wind market witnessed a slight year-over-year decline in market size, in both overall dollars and installations.

According to the report, the global market for solar PV has expanded from $2.5 billion in 2000 to $71.2 billion in 2010, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 39.8%. The global market for wind power has similarly expanded from a global market worth $4.5 billion in 2000 to more than $60.5 billion today, for a CAGR of 29.7%.

“As witnessed over the past decade, clean tech has proven to be a significant business opportunity, and its growth rates now rival that of earlier technology revolutions like telephony, computers, and the Internet,” said Ron Pernick, Clean Edge co-founder and managing director. “We expect overall growth to slow down in some sectors as the clean-energy market reaches wide adoption and utility-scale deployment, but there’s still considerable room for expansion.”

For more information, visit www.cleanedge.com.