By Erik Kirschbaum
BERLIN, March 30 (Reuters) - German companies plan to raise investment in renewable energy production capacity by 50 percent to an annual 6.2 billion euros ($8.74 billion) within the next three years, the country's renewable energy authorities said.
A survey of 304 companies involved in producing equipment for renewable energy production, carried out for industry bodies BEE and AEE, found that 80 percent expect turnover to rise each year by 2014, with over half hoping for double-digit growth.
Some 4 billion euros will be invested in new production capacity in Germany this year, the survey found.
The survey was completed in early March before the nuclear disaster in Japan prompted the German government to revise its plans on extending the lifespans of the country's 17 nuclear reactors. Officials said that should boost growth even further.
"We'll most probably have to adjust the findings upwards if the government is serious about changing its energy strategy," BEE managing director Bjoern Klusmann told a news conference. "We could easily ramp up production to be able to replace nuclear energy in Germany by 2020 at the latest."
Chancellor Angela Merkel's government passed legislation last year to extend the lifespan of the 17 nuclear reactors by an average of 12 years beyond a previous 2022 cut-off date.
But after the Japanese nuclear disaster, Merkel retreated and declared a three-month moratorium on the extensions. She also temporarily shut seven older plants. That upset her party's business wing and did not impress voters in Baden-Wuerttemberg, where the CDU suffered a major election defeat on Sunday.
German firms are among world leaders in renewable energy and making equipment used for machines that turn wind and sunshine into electricity. The country gets 17 percent of its electricity from renewables and aims to raise that to 40 percent by 2020.
Germany overtook the United States to move into second place behind China in clean-energy investment last year, according to a report released on Tuesday called "Who's Winning the Clean energy Race" by the Pew Charitable Trusts.
A total of $41.2 billion was invested in renewable energy in Germany last year, the survey found, compared with $54.4 billion invested in China and $34 billion in the United States. ($1=.7098 Euro) (Editing by Stephen Brown; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)