China top investor in clean energy

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By Dan Gearino

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

That whooshing sound was China passing the United States in clean-energy investment last year, a potentially ominous sign for business leaders who hope to establish a domestic foothold in green manufacturing, according to a new report.

"There are reasons to be concerned about America's competitive position in the clean-energy marketplace," said the study, issued by the Pew Charitable Trusts.

Worldwide investment in clean energy, a majority of which went to solar- and wind-power projects, was up 230percent since 2005.

About $162 billion was invested last year. China passed the U.S. for the top spot with $34.6 billion. The U.S. posted $18.6 billion and the United Kingdom, $11.2billion.

"China is emerging as the world's clean-energy powerhouse," said Phyllis Cuttino, global-warming campaign director for the Pew Environment Group, in a conference call.

But Tim Haab, an Ohio State University environmental economist, doesn't give much credence to just one year of China's results.

"Year-to-year fluctuations don't hold much weight if you want to know what's going on," he said. "To me, the bigger question is, 'Are we investing in the right places?'"

He doesn't know of anyone who has a good answer to that question. For example, there is major disagreement about the relative merits of different technologies, such as wind and solar power.

The report doesn't quantify how much spending is tied to government aid and tax policy, though the countries with the greatest investments tended to have substantial aid programs.

Ohio business and political leaders are trying to establish the state as a hub for green manufacturing.

Gov. Ted Strickland has proposed a new initiative that would use $40million in state and federal stimulus money as matching funds for private investments in companies that make solar panels, fuel cells and other green energy products.

One goal of the investments is to find ways to drive down the cost of clean energy, working toward a future in which there is virtual parity between the cost of clean energy and the cost of fossil fuels.

"We're not there yet," Ethan Zindler, head of North American research for Bloomberg New Energy Finance and a contributor to the Pew study. "If the industry is honest with itself, it will admit that."

And the country won't get there unless it does more to promote clean energy, Cuttino said. She noted two ideas for how to do this, both controversial: a requirement that a certain share of the electricity production come from renewable sources, and a cap-and-trade system for regulating carbon.

Several states, including Ohio, already have benchmarks for clean energy in electricity production, but there is no federal policy. Proposals for a cap-and-trade system have been passed by the U.S. House but are stalled in the Senate.

"The question for the United States is whether it will capitalize on its ingenuity and create the jobs and employment benefits that stem from increased deployment of clean-energy manufacturing, or not," Cuttino said.

dgearino@dispatch.com

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[mawilson 2,133]

China top investor in clean energy

Also the world's biggest polluter.

[justashooter 430]

what the article does not indicate is that much of that 162 billion is taken from your tax dollars via UN coffers to develop low emmission coal gen plants. the article also does not tell you that the emmissions reductions equipment associated with these plants are rarely used after commissioning, because they cost money to operate.

so:

1.) you paid for an entire powerplant in china

2.) china claims that the entire cost of the plant was "green" capital investment

3.) china then refuses to run the exaust scrubbers that are the only green thing about coal gen

this is not something i read on the internet. this is something i have seen with my eyes and breathed in with my lungs. i have wiped the dust off of my shoes.

the article also does not indicate that the majority of that 162 billion is new manufacturing facilities designed to produce "green energy" product such as solar panels, for sale to developed countries. the article does not mention that this new manufacturing capability will use electricity generated by newly commissioned unfiltered coal gen plants that will add to the world's total pollution.

way to go china. make a ####### load of emmissions selling low emmission product to countries stupid enough to buy them from you.