Innovation & Technology

New Tool Identifies Top States, Cities for US Cleantech Manufacturing, Investment

RMI’s Clean Growth Tool provides policymakers and investors with a guide to development, manufacturing and job opportunities for a variety of low-carbon and clean-energy solutions and industries in all 50 states.

Published 4 months ago | About a 3 minute read

Image: RMI

Nonprofit climate and cleantech research institute RMI (founded as Rocky Mountain Institute) has launched the Clean Growth Tool — a new analytical and data platform that identifies the states, cities and regions where clean-energy industries are most likely to thrive in the United States, given their existing workforce strengths and related economic capabilities.

For example, RMI data from the Clean Growth Tool reveals that key regions in Arizona, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan and North Carolina — states that have attracted significant cleantech investment in the wake of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) — are well-positioned to extend their industrial leadership in manufacturing solar components, batteries and electric vehicles; as well as the extraordinary potential that states including Idaho, Kentucky, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Utah have in these same and related critical industries.

The Clean Growth Tool builds on economic methods introduced at the Harvard University Center for International Development and workforce development research at the Brookings Institution. It covers sectors, technologie, and industries associated with all stages of energy transition and clean-energy supply chains. It offers two geographic filters — metropolitan statistical area (MSA), which includes cities and their immediate surroundings; and economic area (EA), which covers both urban and rural areas.

Image credit: RMI

The Tool provides insights on the potential for development and manufacturing of low-carbon solutions related to industries ranging from energy tech, agricultural health and waste management to building & construction, vehicles, metals and minerals, forestry, chemistry and more. It covers all 50 states — providing policymakers and investors with the data they need to pursue the most promising opportunities, and strengthen both local prosperity and US competitiveness amid the accelerating global energy transition.

The launch of the tool comes on the heels of a survey conducted by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation that shows the US public has a clear appetite for the adoption of new, clean technologies — as well as business incentives, training opportunities and robust career pathways to support this growing economy.

“Cities and states need to know where it makes sense to invest to be most competitive amid the global clean energy manufacturing boom,” said RMI senior principal Aaron Brickman. “We’re giving policymakers and investors the workforce and industry data they need to unleash their full potential, spur innovation, boost productivity and create new export opportunities. America can successfully compete in the manufacturing of not only emerging technologies like clean steel, but also widely deployed ones like solar. Economic competitiveness is key to sustained job growth in cleantech manufacturing, and we hone our competitive edge by steering the right investments to the right places.”

As RMI points out in a post, the growth of clean-energy investment in the US in the wake of the IRA has been unprecedented. Hydrogen projects and battery and solar manufacturing are growing especially quickly, thanks to a coordinated “green industrial strategy” that offers powerful investment subsidies, local content requirements and low-cost financing to domestic producers.

Image credit: RMI

Already, these investments are reaching almost every region of the country: Whether it’s the “battery belt” extending from Michigan to Alabama, hydrogen investments along the Gulf Coast, electric vehicles (EVs) and solar manufacturing in the Southeast, or sustainable fuels in corn country, the energy transition is already fueling growth and opportunities nationwide.

Data source inputs for the Clean Growth Tool include the Clean Investment Monitor (MIT/Rhodium), Smart Growth Cities, the American Community Survey, Lightcast and the Green Transition Navigator (LSE).

RMI will continue to update the Clean Growth Tool as new industrial, technological, investment and policy information becomes available.