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Green technology and renewable energy research firm Clean Edge reports that the solar photovoltaic, wind power and biofuels markets grew 31 percent last year to reach $246.1 billion, despite the bad rap that renewable energy has been suffering since the Solyndra bankruptcy.

That’s one of the key findings in the firm’s “Clean Energy Trends 2012″ report . All three technology areas had a record year, according to Clean Edge. For example, solar installations grew by more than 69 percent from 15.6 gigawatts in 2010 to more than 26 gigawatts in 2011, largely due to rapidly decreasing solar technology costs. Last year was the largest year for wind power installations ever, reaching 41.6 gigawatts. (China alone has installed more than 40 percent of the global wind power capacity.)…….  Here are 5 things that anyone interested in clean energy should watch closely, according to the Clean Edge report……

3. Watch the impact of commercial energy efficiency retrofits. Over the past 18 months, the mantra around energy efficiency initiatives has become louder and more insistent. That’s because simple adjustments and measures can help save energy, decreasing the need to build more power plants. Clean Edge notes that about one-fifth of the annual energy consumption in the United States is tied to commercial buildings. The federal government is kicking in some incentives to make it all the more appealing; the goal is to make all of America’s commercial and industrial buildings 20 percent more efficient by 2020. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that helping businesses save money isn’t a hard argument to make. Significantly less difficult than convincing them to invest in on-site solar panels. …..

5. Grid energy storage. One perennial argument against renewable energy is its intermittent nature. So energy storage technologies continue to be an important focus of research and development, and investment. We will continue to hear about more energy storage projects that are adjacent to renewable energy installations, which should have the effect of balancing loads.   http://www.zdnet.com/blog/green/5-renewable-energy-trends-to-watch-in-2012/20674