By John Howley
The Clean Energy Industry has become the fastest growing industry in the world. According to a recent report by the Pew Charitable Trust, renewable and other forms of sustainable energy have experienced 230% growth worldwide since 2005. In 2009 alone - the worst economic year since the end of the Great Depression - new clean energy investments totaled $162 Billion. According to the Pew report, "the clean energy economy is emerging as one of the great global economic and environmental opportunities of the 21st Century."
Clean and sustainable energy is important not only for the health of the planet and the people who live here, but also because it is a great creator of good paying jobs. Over the past 10 years, job growth in the clean energy industry was higher than any other industry. Today more than 770,000 Americans are employed in the clean energy industry, including as scientists, engineers, electricians, machinists, technicians and in other good paying jobs.
China is starting to take a lead in this race to build a clean energy economy. In 2009 it invested $35 Billion in clean energy technologies, compared to $19 Billion by the US. It has created 1.2 million renewable and sustainable energy jobs. And it is starting to export its clean energy technologies to the rest of the world, including to the United States.
For example, a wind farm project in Texas caused some controversy recently because it would be financed in part with US government stimulus funds designed to create American jobs. But just as many jobs would be supported in China where the wind turbines would be manufactured. And California is planning to build a high-speed electric train system using technology, equipment and engineers from China. GE will license technology from China for the project. While GE is the world leader in old-fashioned diesel locomotives, it does not have the necessary experience with clean, electric locomotives needed for high-speed bullet trains that travel 215 miles per hour.
Does this mean that China is winning the race to build a 21st century Green economy? Can the US catch up?
China definitely making a move. Installed renewable generation capacity in China has grown by 79% over the past five years to 52.5 Gigawatts (GWs). That compares to 52.4 GWs of installed renewable generation capacity in the US, and a growth rate of only 24% during the same time period. At this rate, China will have more installed renewable generation capacity than the US or any other country in the world some time this year.
We should keep in mind, however, that the clean energy race is a marathon and the competitors are just getting warmed up. The entire world has installed only 250 GWs of renewable energy, which amounts to only 6% of total demand. More than 90% of that installed capacity is in G-20 nations. There is a long way to go in this race.
We should also keep in mind that China is a unique combination of emerging global superpower and low-wage developing country. At the same time it is trying to build a clean energy economy, it is struggling to build enough old and polluting coal-fired power plants to meet basic electricity needs. It is also the largest country in the world, meaning that its per capita investments are only a fraction of the per capita investments in the US.
In contrast, every dollar spent in the US on sustainable energy builds upon the most extensive energy infrastructure in the world. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), popularly known as the Stimulus Bill, has allocated $85 Billion for clean energy and transportation investments. Much of that money will be spent in the next two years, which will greatly increase both the amount and the growth rate of US clean energy investments above the $19 Billion invested last year. Plus, the US can leverage that government spending with private investments because of its transparent legal system and financial institutions.
So, who will win this race? Much depends on government policy. Renewable energy incentives and mandates, feed-in tariffs, and figuring out how to include the cost of pollution in the price of fossil fuels will have tremendous impacts on future clean energy investments. As the Chairman and CEO of Dow Corning told Congress just the other day, "Other nations have enacted aggressive policies to support the growth of the renewable energy industry.... It is time for America to enact policies that will essentially assure this industry grows here."
John Howley
http://www.DaviesGreenEnergy.com
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http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Clean-Energy-Race---China-Starts-to-Take-a-Lead&id=4113161
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