Clean Tech
Clean Tech represents a diverse range of products, services, and processes, all intended to:
- Provide superior performance at lower costs, while
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- Greatly reducing or eliminating negative ecological impact, at the same time as
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- Improving the productive and responsible use of natural resources
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Clean Tech is defined by a diverse range of products, services, and processes that harness renewable materials and energy sources, promote the sustainable use of natural resources, and reduce or eliminate emissions and wastes. Clean tech firms seek to increase performance, productivity and efficiency by minimizing negative effects on the environment, and describe companies that generally deal in energy (renewables, bio-fuels, efficiency, storage), recycling and waste, the environment, transportation, agriculture, materials and manufacturing. The clean tech sector refers both to clean tech firms as well as to all those industries that support those firms including construction, legal, marketing and any other number of businesses which may play a role as service providers. The clean tech economy produces a broad spectrum of “clean” products, from goods such as wind turbines and solar photovoltaic panels, to services such as mass transit and environmental engineering.
Clean Economy
The clean economy is an important element of America's emerging economy. It will define our state's and country's low carbon future and provide opportunity for workers at all levels of the income and skills distributions. A recent report by The Brookings Institute found that from 2003 to 2010, Maine added 2,914 “clean jobs,” growing by 4 percent annually. Between 2008 and 2009, the state rate overtook the national growth rate of 3.4 percent. Nationwide in 2010 there were 2.7 million clean tech jobs.
The clean economy matters because it interacts with nearly every aspect of the rest of the economy and is emerging as a source of rapid technological and process innovation worldwide. Clean tech venture capital surged in the third quarter of 2011, according to Ernst & Young. The accounting firm said U.S. VC investment in clean tech companies increased 73 percent, to $1.1 billion. Regionally, while California was the top spot for clean tech investment ($583 million in the 3rd quarter), Massachusetts was next at $170.4 million.
