U.S. Slips in Clean Energy Race - FL Implications
Tallahassee, FL (Posted April 11, 2011 11:50 am)
Germany
has pushed the U.S. down a notch, according to rankings
listed in a new report that tracks investments in the
clean-energy sector. The U.S. is now third, Germany
second and China is number one, according to a study
released by Pew Charitable Trusts. The research finds a
link between investments and robust clean energy
policies.
Link: The complete report, "Who's Winning the Clean Energy Race?" is available here. (3.7mb)
Kathy Baughman McLeod, who is serving her second term
on the Florida State Energy Commission, says Florida is
a perfect example of the problem.
"It's not surprising to see us fall to third, and
Florida is not where we could be. We have the interest,
the private-sector motivation and the technology we
need. We do not have the political courage to push to
the next level."
She says Florida's lack of political courage is
underlined by the legislature's recent action to abolish
the whole state energy commission, effective July 1.
Bloomberg New Energy Finance Chief Executive Michael
Liebreich compares the clean energy race to the Internet
race, saying it's important for the U.S. to be the
leader.
"If you can imagine a world in which Google, and
Twitter, and eBay and Amazon are all Chinese companies,
how does that work for the U.S. economy?"
The Pew report notes that clean-energy investments are
up 30 percent globally, and the U.S. remains a leader in
developing the next generation of clean energy
technologies and products.