California's clean-technology industry is growing and supporting economic recovery in the state, according to a report released today by Next 10, a San Francisco nonprofit that promotes growth of California's clean economy.
Published for the fourth time since 2008 by Next 10 and compiled by Collaborative Economics Inc. in San Mateo, the 2012 California Green Innovation Index measures various economic and environmental factors, including clean-tech venture capital investment levels, clean-tech patent activity, energy productivity and renewable energy-generation levels.
The new report says clean-tech investment in California rose 24 percent from 2010 to 2011 to reach $3.5 billion. Patent registrations increased more than 40 percent in the last half of the 2000-10 decade, the report says.
"Venture capital investment and patent filings are two economic indicators that signal positive future growth in terms of jobs and businesses," said F. Noel Perry, founder of Next 10. "California's commitment to an economy that is cleaner will also give us an economy that is stronger."
The report says renewable energy generation levels accounted for 13.7 percent of the state's energy portfolio in 2010, and includes a close look at the state's solar industry following last year's highly publicized bankruptcy filing by solar panel manufacturer Solyndra Inc. in Fremont.
Despite that meltdown, the report says California won 62 percent of international venture capital investment in solar in 2011, representing $1.2 billion. Last year, the report says California surpassed 1,000 megawatts of installed solar capacity, ranking the state among the top solar-adopting countries in the world.
Also, from January 1995 to January 2010, the report said more than 1,500 solar businesses were launched in California, and employment in the solar sector increased 166 percent to nearly 35,000 in that time.
Other economists, while praising Next 10's work and citing clean technology's long-term potential, said it remains a relatively small player in California's massive, diverse economy.
"I respect them … but for all the studies I've seen on the green economy, I just don't get it," said Christopher Thornberg, an economist and founding partner of economic research/consulting firm Beacon Economics. "There are very few green companies, even though there are companies that have green technology."
Thornberg said he's confused over what constitutes a green company: "Is Toyota a green company because it has hybrids? … No matter what, the clean economy is still a small niche sector."
Sung Won Sohn, an economist at California State University's Channel Islands campus, agreed that "it is a fairly small industry … It obviously can become a lot bigger and more important at a later point.
"I don't think it will be driving economic growth (in California) but contributing to growth in a small way. Still, it's something we should be pushing forward."
Original article: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/04/19/4425173/study-touts-californias-clean…;