President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address signaled many opportunities to grow the nation’s clean energy economy, including support for the production tax credit for wind, the establishment of energy manufacturing hubs, and doubling the amount of electricity from renewables. In the Republican Response, Sen. Marco Rubio also noted that renewable energy as an important component in the nation’s energy mix.
The Pew Charitable Trusts recently released research finding that revenues from clean energy installments globally could total $1.9 trillion from 2012 through 2018. To strengthen America’s global competitiveness in this growing economic sector, the report also outlines policy recommendations, including investments in energy research and development, extension of key manufacturing incentives, and establishment of a national Clean Energy Standard that sets milestones for deployment of renewable and other clean sources in the electric power sector.
Phyllis Cuttino, director of the Pew Clean Energy Program, discusses clean energy opportunities:
