The greening of America: top 10 cleantech trends

Cleantech—which can be defined as technology that strives to replace conventional, dirty, inefficient technologies with innovative, clean, sustainable ones—has been gaining in scope and popularity in the United States for decades. More recently, with support from the federal government as a key mechanism for decreasing our dependence on fossil fuels and reducing carbon emissions, the industry has also shown significant growth in the area of job creation by entrepreneurs, large corporations, and research institutions alike. With the growth of cleantech, a number of long-term trends have become apparent. Here, we list the top 10:

1. A greener United States military through mandates by the Department of Defense
2. Impressive job creation
3. More international partnerships
4. The rise of energy-efficient homes, from new builds to upgrades
5. An increase in the popularity and sales of electric vehicles
6. A boost in the number of buildings that are LEED certified
7. Support for federal and state recycling initiatives
8. The export of U.S. clean technologies globally
9. Airlines striving to be green through the use of biofuels and carbon offsets
10. Hotels implementing initiatives to become more energy efficient

As the demand for clean, green, sustainable technologies continues to escalate around the world, cleantech companies and research institutions in the United States are certain to respond, providing innovative solutions that will keep these top 10 trends relevant—even permanent—for a long time to come. 

To read the full story, click here.