Pew Research Predicts U.S. Will Lag in Green Markets
WASHINGTON — A new report by the Pew Charitable Trusts (PCT) argues that the green economy in the United States is currently at a tipping point, a moment when the future of the green technology, construction and energy markets will either receive a massive boost and grow into the future, or resign to stagnation. The PCT is an independent non-profit, non-governmental organization, based in Philadelphia, which strives to change the public dialogue on matter of public policy.
The report, titled Innovate, Manufacture, Compete: a Clean Energy Action Plan, begins on an opportunistic note, proclaiming, “The clean energy industry is gathering momentum around the world. Innovation and investment are helping to bring down the cost of solar, wind and other emerging technologies. As a result, markets for clean energy goods and services are growing, and a new global competition is developing among companies and countries alike.”
The following sentence provides the premise for the entire report, clarifying, “In the United States, however, the outlook is less positive.”
The PCT explains that worldwide investment in renewable energy has skyrocketed over the last decade, “increasing by 600 percent from 2004 to 2011 and rising 6.5 percent to a record $263 billion. Renewable energy sources accounted for almost half of all generating capacity added to the world’s power sector.”
The good news keeps coming, as the PCT predicts positive growth in the future. “From 2012 to 2018, global revenue associated with clean energy installations is projected to grow at a compound annual rate of 8 percent, increasing from $200 billion in 2012 to $327 billion in 2018. Cumulative revenue resulting from installation of these resources over the 2012 to 2018 period is projected to total $1.9 trillion.”
Even the projections for the U.S. look pretty good on paper. “In the United States, cumulative clean energy installations from 2012 to 2018 are projected to reach 126 gigawatts (GW), which would more than double non-hydroelectric generating capacity. The $269 billion in projected revenue associated with installations in the United States during the 2012 to 2018 period represents 14.5 percent of the global total. Revenue in the U.S. market is expected to grow during the period at a compound annual rate of 14 percent.”
Though the numbers for the U.S. sound good at face value, the reality is that the superpower actually accounts for closer to 25 percent of the world’s gross domestic product, meaning the report predicts the country will only produce a little over half of its share of global green energy installations. So while the green building and energy industries are continuing to grow in the United States, the rate of growth is significantly lower than what would be expected for the relative size of the nation’s economy.
The PCT interviewed hundreds of industry experts and academics that study green industries and found that one of the main impediments to a green market explosion in the U.S. is the proverbial lack of certainty about the future actions of politicians in this country. The volatility of our recent political reality already created a lot of uncertainty for business people in general, but global warming becoming a political hot-button issue has only increased the lack of stability for those in the green markets.
The report also sites the receding wave of stimulus funds, as green technology was a focus of that program. The PCT points out that lean times are approaching in that area “with public-sector support declining 75 percent in 2014 from 2009 levels.”
Finally, industry experts told the PCT that subsidies for oil companies were keeping the playing field uneven, arguing that if green energy handouts from the governments were as sizable as those given to the oil and coal industry, “clean energy sources would be cost-competitive immediately.”