'Made in China': The Future of Clean Energy?

Will China dominate clean energy technologies in the near future? 

If the rapid expansion of its wind and solar industries are any indication, China's global dominance may be a foregone conclusion. 

Last year, China leapfrogged past its competitors to become the number one producer of wind turbines in the world.  It already held the position of being the world's largest manufacturer of solar panels.  What's more, both industries are set to greater expansion. 

In his State of the Union address last week, President Obama highlighted the fact that America must ramp up its efforts to generate a clean energy economy, otherwise it will fall completely behind China and other nations.

There are numerous factors which play into China's meteoric rise in clean energy technologies.  None is more important than the fact China's energy demand is rising 15% per year, a rate that is not matched by the U.S.  According to the International Energy Agency, in order for China to meet this new demand, it will need to integrate almost nine times as much electricity into the grid in the next decade than the United States.  As a result, China's market for power equipment dwarfs the U.S. market, and any other market in the world for that matter.

So, what does China's burgeoning clean energy economy mean for the United States and the rest of the world?  Start stimulating growth quickly, otherwise energy dependence may just shift from Middle Eastern oil to Chinese cleantech products.

Read the full story at the New York Times:  China is Leading the Race to Make Renewable Energy