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Published on December 1st, 2009 | by Susan Kraemer

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China Now Spending $9 Billion a Month on Renewable energy

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December 1st, 2009 by  

The US is falling behind in the clean energy race, Steven Chu told a Clemson University symposium, while visiting South Carolina on Monday. The University has just won a Department of Energy grant for wind testing at a world-class level, and will be testing wind turbines larger than ever before seen in this country, as I detailed here last week: South Carolina to Lead US With $98 Million World-Class Wind Center.

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The Department of Energy award to Clemson University is one of many that the US Department of Energy has invested this year in renewable energy, reversing years of neglect of the “braintrust” infrastructure of research and development that drives renewable energy innovation.

Both China and Europe wind increasingly look to each other for renewable energy infrastructure, while the US is being left behind by both continents. Since signing Kyoto in 1997; agreeing to carbon constraints that forced it to forge ahead and develop new renewable low carbon energy, Europe has raced ahead in wind and solar power, and now dominates the world market.

“America has the opportunity to lead the world in a new industrial revolution,” Mr. Chu told business leaders, political leaders and engineers at a Clemson University symposium.

But, he said: “The world is passing us by. We are falling behind in the clean energy race … China is spending $9 billion a month on clean energy … China has now passed the United States and Europe in high-tech manufacturing. There is no reason the United States should cede high-tech manufacturing to anyone.”

“This is going to be a very competitive business and we want to help the United States get a leadership position in wind generation technology,” Mr. Chu said.

“This is high-tech manufacturing. This means quality jobs for Americans, this means better exports and balance of trade, it means better consumption at home, it further drives down the price of wind, it betters our exports, it creates jobs in America. We see all good things.”

Image: Bellona

Source: Climate Progress

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About the Author

writes at CleanTechnica, CSP-Today, PV-Insider , SmartGridUpdate, and GreenProphet. She has also been published at Ecoseed, NRDC OnEarth, MatterNetwork, Celsius, EnergyNow, and Scientific American. As a former serial entrepreneur in product design, Susan brings an innovator's perspective on inventing a carbon-constrained civilization: If necessity is the mother of invention, solving climate change is the mother of all necessities! As a lover of history and sci-fi, she enjoys chronicling the strange future we are creating in these interesting times.    Follow Susan on Twitter @dotcommodity.


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  • http://www.solaruk.com/ Jasper

    Concerning solar power, it’s Germany that has raced away from most other European countries – thanks to the incentive programmes in place.

    But even so – and even in the face of the ongoing economic difficulties – companies such as SolarUK have seen plenty of enquiries from potential customers who are aware that a well-designed system (such as the LaZer2) can provide 50% to 70% of a household’s hot water needs, often rising to 100% during the warmest months of the year (these percentages apply to the UK). As oil and gas prices continue to rise, solar hot water is looking more and more cost-effective in comparison.

    The wider solar industry could see positive results from new research from the independent EU Energy Institute, which says that solar panels will fall in price quicker than previously expected, adding that they are such a good long-term investment that banks should offer homeowners mortgages on them. Solar could be set for ‘grid parity’ sooner than many think (that is, it’ll be as cheap for someone to generate power at home as it is to buy from the grid).

    http://solarukweblog.wordpress.com/

  • http://www.solaruk.com/ Jasper

    Concerning solar power, it’s Germany that has raced away from most other European countries – thanks to the incentive programmes in place.

    But even so – and even in the face of the ongoing economic difficulties – companies such as SolarUK have seen plenty of enquiries from potential customers who are aware that a well-designed system (such as the LaZer2) can provide 50% to 70% of a household’s hot water needs, often rising to 100% during the warmest months of the year (these percentages apply to the UK). As oil and gas prices continue to rise, solar hot water is looking more and more cost-effective in comparison.

    The wider solar industry could see positive results from new research from the independent EU Energy Institute, which says that solar panels will fall in price quicker than previously expected, adding that they are such a good long-term investment that banks should offer homeowners mortgages on them. Solar could be set for ‘grid parity’ sooner than many think (that is, it’ll be as cheap for someone to generate power at home as it is to buy from the grid).

    http://solarukweblog.wordpress.com/

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