At the Detroit Economic Club's National Summit last month, industry leaders agreed that manufacturing is the key to America's economic survival. But how do you implement features to keep the manufacturing industry strong?

Many seemed to agree that clean technologies will be key, though the specifics remain unclear.

At the National Summit, panel member Chip McClure, CEO, president and chairman of ArvinMeritor Inc., suggested that the manufacturing sector can recover not only by rebuilding trust and managing capital, but also by embracing the growing need for clean energy.

Yet "clean is more than green," according to Neal Dikeman, founding contributor of CleantechBlog.com and Cleantech.org. "Clean technology should not be confused with the terms 'environmental technology' or 'green tech' popularized in the 1970s and '80s."

Clean tech, Dikeman wrote in 2008, "has grown to define a business sector that includes significant and high growth industries such as solar, wind, water purification and biofuels."

McClure framed clean tech's as-yet-unknown potential this way: "Questions are being asked by global industrialists... Does the United States have the resources? Do we have the commitment from government, business and academia? And, do we have the ability to turn investment into jobs and growth? These are key questions..." (Source: Crain's Detroit Business)

A new report from the Pew Charitable Trusts, titled The Clean Energy Economy, found that while most manufacturing job sectors experienced a slump from 1998 to 2007, America's clean-energy economy grew in every state at nearly two-and-a-half times the speed of the overall job market. Pew found that jobs in the emerging clean-energy economy grew at a national rate of 9.1 percent, while traditional jobs grew by only 3.7 percent between 1998 and 2007.

According to Pew, "a clean energy economy generates jobs, businesses and investments while expanding clean energy production, increasing energy efficiency, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, waste and pollution, and conserving water and other natural resources."

This area of energy and technology has engaged a wide variety of workers and generated new industries that employ scientists, engineers, electricians, machinists, plumbers, administrative assistants, construction workers, machine setters, marketers, teachers and many others. Annual incomes for these jobs range from $21,000 to $111,000.

Pew notes that this glimmer of positive news in an otherwise bleak job environment has occurred "despite a lack of sustained policy attention and investment."

Many industry leaders and political figures agree that the current global economic crisis presents an opportunity for many nations to "bring about a green energy revolution," Kandeh K. Yumkella, director-general of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization pointed out at a recent UN-sponsored green energy conference in Vienna (via Agence France-Presse). Conference attendees discussed solutions to global financial woes involving clean technology and energy development, reaching a consensus that green energy could not only spark economic growth, but also provide aid to developing countries and help the environment.

The current U.S. government seems to consider growing the economy and creating jobs with clean technology as important as security concerns.

In a speech last week concerning U.S. energy security, President Barack Obama asserted, "We've seen our reliance on fossil fuels jeopardize our national security." The Obama Administration, in pursuing solutions to this security problem, reiterated how it has made great strides in developing America's relationship with clean technology.

The government's $410 billion 2010 budget specified that while the Department of Energy would only see a five percent increase over the Bush budget of the previous year, the spending focus will change. The Department of Energy released a series of guidelines for spending and development, designed to transition the American economy into one powered by clean, secure energy.

The DOE guidelines spell out a plan that includes:

• Investment in the sciences;
• Encouragement of the early commercial use of innovative energy technologies that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions;
• Advancement of the development of low-carbon coal technologies;
• Investment in energy efficient, reliable electricity delivery infrastructures;
• Investment in clean energy technologies to reduce dependence on foreign oil and accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy;
• Reduction of proliferation risks while ensuring the safety, security and reliability of the nuclear weapons stockpile without nuclear testing; and
• Focus on the cleanup and management of radioactive waste and nuclear materials.

In addition to the president's budget, Congress is currently vetting multiple bills regarding clean technology.

In mid-June, Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) announced the Investments for Manufacturing Progress and Clean Technology (IMPACT) Act, which would establish a $30 billion fund to distribute capital to assist "small and medium-sized firms in retooling, expanding or establishing domestic clean energy manufacturing operations and improving energy efficiency," Brown said in a statement. The bill would also triple federal funding for the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) centers.

The recently introduced American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES) of 2009 also focuses on increasing federal support for clean technology by providing funds for green jobs, increasing energy efficiency incentives for homes and buildings and tightening greenhouse-gas emissions restrictions. While this bill, which passed the House in a vote last week, is designed to incentivize clean energy and cut America's dependence on foreign oil, at its base it is considered a "jobs bill."

The president asserted, "This legislation will finally make clean energy the profitable kind of energy."

Earlier

Cleantech Investment Climbs to Highest Quarter on Record

Inside Obama's Energy Budget

Resources

Clean Tech Seen as Key to Manufacturing Regrowth
by Katherine Yung
Detroit Free Press, June 16, 2009

Manufacturing Must Drive U.S. Recovery, Summit Told
by Rob Lever
Agence France-Presse, June 16, 2009

Manufacturing Critical to America's Future, Summit Panelists Say
by Nancy Kaffer
Crain's Detroit Business, June 16, 2009

What is Cleantech?
by Neal Dikeman
Cleantech Blog, Aug. 10, 2008

The Clean Energy Economy
The Pew Charitable Trusts, June 10, 2009

Pew Finds Clean Energy Economy Generates Significant Job Growth
The Pew Charitable Trusts, June 10, 2009

Report Highlight: The Clean Energy Economy
The Pew Charitable Trusts, June 10, 2009

World Must Strive for 'Green Economy' Says UN
Agence France-Presse, June 23, 2009

A Historic Energy Bill
by Jesse Lee
The White House Blog, June 26, 2009

Brown Announces New Bill Providing $30 Billion in Funds to Help Auto Suppliers, Manufacturers Retool for Clean Energy Jobs
Sherrod Brown, June 17, 2009

Chairmen Waxman, Markey Release Discussion Draft of New Clean Energy Legislation
Henry A. Waxman (The Energy and Commerce Committee) and Edward J. Markey (The Energy and Environment Subcommittee), March 31, 2009

Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2010
Office of Management and Budget, Feb. 26, 2009

A New Era of Responsibility: Renewing America's Promise
Office of Management and Budget, Feb. 26, 2009

Department of Energy Budget: Funding Highlights
Department of Energy, 2009

The Agenda: Energy and the Environment
WhiteHouse.Gov