Dive Brief:

• The U.S. clean energy sector is holding its own as the world's second-largest market, even though it declined 9% in 2013, to $36.7 billion, behind China’s $54.2 billion. Fulfillment of state renewable portfolio standards, lack of national energy policy and uncertainty about global warming policy have kept investor interest from booming, the Pew Charitable Trust's clean energy program reports.
• The U.S. remained second for wind energy investment, attracting $14 billion. It was third in solar investments, at $17.7 billion. The nation continued to lead in biofuels and energy efficiency/low-carbon technology, and remained the dominant recipient of public market and venture capital/private equity investment, attracting $6.8 billion and $2.2 billion, respectively.
• The No. 2 ranking held even though wind installations fell 90% last year from 2012, when companies rushed to finish projects so they could qualify for the federal production tax credit.

Dive Insight:

The U.S. may have fallen precipitously in wind farm installations in 2013, but it saw more wind megawatts start construction than ever before – more than 12,000 MW, according to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). AWEA said nearly 11,000 of those megawatts started construction in the fourth quarter – because award of the federal production credit as extended last year was to projects that started building before year-end. So even if Congress doesn’t renew the credit this year – many people expect that it will – more than 12,000 MW of new wind power will come online in the next months and years.