States and Cities Taking Charge

In May Clean Edge released its eighth annual 2017 U.S. Clean Tech Leadership Index, which analyzes and tracks clean energy related activity in both states and cities in the U.S. The Index offers rankings and scores for each of the 50 states, as well as the 50 largest U.S. metropolitan statistical areas.

At the top of the overall state rankings, unchanged from 2016’s Index, are California, Massachusetts, Vermont, Oregon, and New York. A hub of innovation, Massachusetts maintained its second overall place in the index for a fifth consecutive year, second only to California. Massachusetts came out on top in the Capital category, and showed strong rankings in the categories of Policy, Incentives, and Green Buildings.

Much of the success in Massachusetts comes right out of Boston, which placed 7th overall in the metro rankings. Thanks to the strong spirit of innovation in the city, due in part to the abundance of top-ranked higher learning institutions, Boston has climbed in energy efficiency and green building ratings. The Index points out that “energy efficiency is a particular strength” for Massachusetts, and it “finished first in the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy’s (ACEEE) most recent state efficiency scorecard, and has the second-most kilowatt hours (kWh) saved per person through utility efficiency programs.” Plus, it helps that Massachusetts is home to MassCEC, where non-cape-wearing heroes work every day to accelerate the success of clean energy in the Commonwealth (shameless plug!).

Perhaps one of the most important takeaways from this year’s index is that clean energy leadership is a nonpartisan issue – in the top 10 states for renewable electricity generation, five states were red, and five were blue. States and cities from both parties seem to be in tune with the scientific proof detailing the critical need for the shift away from fossil fuels – and that is all it takes to charge the spirits of clean energy pioneers (with energy from renewables, of course).

Clean Edge’s 2017 U.S. Clean Tech Leadership Index can be found here: https://cleanedge.com/reports/2017-US-Clean-Tech-Leadership-Index