U.S. Ranks Fourth In Wind Energy Manufacturing As China Maintains Cleantech Lead
| in News Departments > New & Noteworthy |
| China continues to lead the global clean energy technology manufacturing race, with the U.S. lagging in critical market-share areas, including in wind power technology, according to a new report commissioned by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The report ranks 25 countries based on the 2011 sales of the clean energy technology products they manufacture, such as wind turbines and solar panels. Although the U.S. has a strong market share in wind technology, it is still in fourth place, with an 11% market share (a slight increase over last year's 9%), behind China, Germany and Denmark, who together represent more than 60% of the global market. Despite a growth of 30% in U.S. demand for wind turbines, wind turbine manufacturing in the U.S. grew by only 17% in 2011. In terms of total sales value of clean energy technology, China had the largest market, followed by the U.S. and Germany, according to the report. Although the U.S. ranks second to China in total sales, relative to the size of its economy, the U.S. is well behind countries such as Denmark, China, Germany and Brazil. The top five fastest-growing markets for 2010 to 2011 were Taiwan (+36%), China (+29%), India (+19%), South Korea (+19%) and the U.S. (+17%), the report adds. While sales from manufacturers in many countries in Asia and the Americas continued to increase, European manufacturers have kept their sales stable, or have even seen a decline in sales. "Other countries are moving on clean technology opportunities and making big investments in the industry, while U.S. policymakers in Washington seem to be content to let all the recent growth in the U.S. wither on the vine by not providing policy certainty and not going after growth opportunities," comments Marty Spitzer, director of U.S. climate policy for WWF.” "The long-term drivers behind growth in clean technology markets are not going away,” Spitzer adds. “Countries winning the clean technology manufacturing race see the growth opportunities and are going after them by building strong domestic markets through comprehensive policies. We can't risk Washington taking a nap by the side of the road while more countries breeze by us. There's too much at stake." |
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