Why China Is Kicking Our Ass In Clean Tech

WHY CHINA IS KICKING CLEAN IN TECH OUR ASS Over the past five years China's renewable economy has been steadily growing and has now taken the first place spot over the U.S. From investing in clean tech to the active construction of wind farms and photovoltaic plants, China is kicking our American asses around the electric grid. Below are a few reasons why. CURRENT CAPACITY China has officially overtaken the U.S. in renewable energy investments and in total renewable energy produced annually. CHINA U.S. 103 GIGAWATTS 58 GIGAWATTS TOTAL RENEWABLE САРАСІTY 99 43,410 MEGAWATTS 39,270 MEGAWATTS TOTAL WIND CAPACITY 800 MEGAWATTS 3,100 MEGAWATTS TOTAL SOLAR CAPACITY MANUFACTURING JOBS CHINA U.S. China is investing $9 billion a month in clean energy and is expected to become the world's biggest market for wind and solar energy within 5 years. According to Energy Secretary Steven Chu, the U.S. used to manufacture more than 40% of the world's solar cells as recently as the mid-1990s. Today, we produce just 7%. SOLAR MANUFACTURING HEADS TO CHINA Already, China's commitment to the solar industry is spurring American technology companies to move their facilities across the Pacific. U.S. Evergreen Solar Inc. moved its production facilities from * Massachusetts to China. BP's solar unit in Maryland ceased production of solar panels in favor of importing panels from China. GE shuttered its solar production facility in Delaware. RUNNING ON RENEWABLES Currently the U.S. derives only 8% of its energy from renewable sources. In contrast, China derives 15% and should derive at least 20% by 2020. 50% 100% 50% 100 % ATTRACTING RENEWABLE INVESTMENTS In a recent report by Ernst & Young, global renewable markets were indexed according to their attractiveness for renewable investment. The U.S. placed second behind China. INDEX POINT OUT OF 100 CHINA ALL RENEWABLE 72 67 ENERGY U.S. CHINA WIND 78 ENERGY U.S. 66 CHINA 62 SOLAR ENERGY 74 U.S. CHINA IIII -I--I|III 79 INFRASTRUCTURE 60 U.S. INVESTMENTS IN RENEWABLES China may produce a greater number of gigawatts and rank higher on global market charts, but could they possibly outspend us? Seemingly impossible for the largest economy in the world, but once again we have our proverbial butts handed to us on a fossil fuel platter. TOTAL RENEWABLE INVESTMENT 5 YEAR GROWTH RATE IN INVESTMENTS CHINA CHINA $54.4 BILLION 88% U.S. U.S. $34 BILLION 61% DISTRIBUTION OF INVESTMENT BY SECTOR Perhaps the lag in energy growth is not just due to the lack of funding, but the misplaced distribution of the renewable resource budget. CHINA U.S. WIND 43% 25% 17% WIND 72% OTHER RENEWABLES 17.5% SOLAR BIO-FUELS SOLAR 6.3% EFFICIENCY & LOW- CARBON SERVICES 9% BIO-FUELS 3.8% EFFICIENCY & LOW-CARBON SER- VICES 4% OTHER RENEWABLES 6% BOMBS OR TURBINES? Many feel that the U.S. is simply lacking the necessary funding to subsidize renewable resources. It is a hard pill to swallow when we look at the defense budget. CHINA U.S. TYT FOR EVERY $3 SPENT ON THE DEFENSE BUDGET, $1 IS SPENT ON RENEWABLES. FOR EVERY $41 SPENT ON THE DEFENSE BUDGET, $1 IS SPENT ON RENEWABLES. ECONOMIC INCENTIVES Another distinguishing factor separating the renewable market of China from the U.S. is their key investment incentives. The U.S. incentives are geared more towards large businesses while China has made sure to include incentives for individuals and households. IL For wind and solar energies, there are For wind energies, fixed fee-in tariffs are available. For solar, all rooftops and business buildings can have integrated photovoltaic subsidies. For all renewable energies, there are minimum standards and guaranteed purchase by utilities. production tax credits and investment tax credits. Power storage also provides a federal manufacturers tax credit. There are also federal loan guarantees for clean tech. FUTURE GROWTH By 2016, installed clean energy for both countries is expected to CHINA increase. However, the U.S. only has a projected growth rate of 30% compared to China's 106%. 106% U.S. 30% 5 YEAR GROWTH RATE Call (don't email) your state government rep. Your state government has the most power to create the kind of programs that spur job growth quickly, so if you're only going to make one call, make it at the state government level, not federal. Get contact info at www.votesmart.org/mystate_summary.php WHAT YOU ÇAN DO ÁBOUT IT Make sure your call counts. A staffer will most likely take your call. Tell them, "I'm a voter calling in support of creating stronger renewable energy incentives and programs in our state. I've heard that New Jersey and other states have created a lot of new jobs through clean energy incentives. I'd like similar programs in our state." Magnify your impact. Encourage your friends and family to make the call. Here's a sample Facebook status: "I want more jobs created in the U.S., so I called state representatives in support of stronger clean energy incentives in our state. You should do this, too. Visit www.votesmart.org/mystate_summary.php or Congress.org for contact info." If you're really fired up about this. You can also call your senators and state representatives in Washington D.C., repeating all the steps mentioned. To get those numbers, go to Congress.org or call the main switchboard at (202) 225-3121 and ask for your state representative or congressperson. Sources: Wall Street Journal I EIA I PEW Environment Group I Ernst and Young I Energy.gov I NYTimes I GlobalFinance.com I SmartPlanet.com I Guardian.Co.Uk I DLC.org 1BOG.org GROUP DISCOUNTS ON SOLAR ID