U.S. Drops To Third Place in Clean Energy Investment

The United States dropped to third place behind China and Germany in clean-energy investment last year, according to a report released at midnight by the Pew Charitable Trusts.
Other key findings in the report:
Investment in clean energy rebounded from flat recessionary levels, growing 30 percent from 2009 to set a record at $243 billion worldwide;
The recovery was funded by increased investment from all three sources: government, corporate research and development, and private venture capital;
The recovery was fueled primarily by investment in small-scale projects, such as residential scale solar projects that generate less than one megawatt;
The solar sector grew fastest, at 53 percent, but wind remained the leader, seeing growth of 34 percent;
Growth occurred much faster in Asia than in the West.
"Overall, it is clear that the center of gravity for clean energy investment is shifting from the West (Europe and the United States) to the East (China, India and other Asian nations," according to the report, "Who's Winning the Clean Energy Race?" (pdf).
U.S. investment in clean energy technologies increased more than 50 percent, from $22.5 to $34 billion, but could not catch up with China, which invested $54.4 billion, and for the first time fell behind Germany, which doubled its annual investment to $41.2 billion.
The numbers suggest the U.S. is falling behind at a time when Administration rhetoric increasingly appeals to competition to justify investment in clean energy.
Earlier this month President Obama urged that "we keep pushing to find ways to free ourselves from dependence on foreign oil, and make sure that America is the capital of clean energy for decades to come."
And at a Pew Environment forum one week ago, Energy Secretary Steven Chu promoted wind, solar, and small modular nuclear technologies to "win the race" against China and other countries.
The Pew report tallies all investment, public and private, including research and development, and ranks the G-20 group of industrialized nations. In 2010, more than 90 percent of all clean energy investments were directed to companies and projects in the G-20, the report finds.