CICP News & Updates

Let’s end the week with some positive news for our state’s economy, as a new study from the Pew Charitable Trusts documents an 18% increase in Indiana clean technology jobs over the last decade.

Cleantech is a booming industry that’s seeing dramatic growth and attracting significant new investment, based in part on ambitious federal goals that include doubling renewable energy use within three years and putting a million new hybrid vehicles on U.S. highways.  The cleantech sector saw more than $7.7 billion in venture capital investment in 2008; especially impressive considering that cleantech venture capital made up just 1% of total VC financing in 2004 (the first year it was widely tracked).  The 2008 figures represent 20% of last year’s venture investment.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, overall market demand for alternative energy and related products and technologies will continue to grow at a rapid pace for the foreseeable future.  The EIA projects 3.3% annual growth in renewable energy consumption through 2030, as well as a sharp increase in light-use hybrid vehicle sales from just 2% of the current market to 38% in 2030.  (Industry experts estimate that nearly 500,000 new hybrid vehicles will hit U.S. highways in 2009 alone.)

Other EIA analysis of cleantech sub-sectors like wind and solar power, plug-in/hybrid electric vehicles, second generation biofuels, distributed power generation, and systems integration project each to grow to more than $70 billion over the next ten years, collectively accounting for a more than $350B global market.

Look for more news on cleantech and Indiana’s emerging leadership position from CICP’s new Energy Systems Network initiative.