Alternative Energy Sources Industry Financials

The electric power generation industry consists of 2,200 power generating plants with combined revenue of $80 billion. Major companies include Duke Energy, Excelon, American Electric Power, and Consolidated Edison of New York. The industry is highly concentrated: the 50 largest firms operate more than 50 percent of the generating facilities and earn over 85 percent of industry revenue. In addition to investor-owned utilities, there are about 2,000 government-owned electric power companies at the federal, state, and municipal level, and another 900 user-owned electric cooperatives.

The biofuels industry in the US includes about 200 companies with combined annual revenue of about $3 billion. Major companies include Archer Daniels Midland, Cargill, BP, and Chevron. Most companies in the industry are small (under $10 million in revenue). Biofuels is a young industry growing at a rate of 25 to 50 percent each year. New entrants enter the field constantly and new technology breakthroughs are frequent. Federal and state government subsidies and loan guarantees keep barriers to entry relatively low.

Using the 2002 Census Bureau Economic Census, Hoover's has generated an industry financial summary for the Alternative Energy Sources industry.