Clean Tech In Massachusetts Goes Full Steam Ahead
DeVito
Sources indicate that hybrid vehicles comprise 4 percent of the United States' automobile market. That's the highest percentage ever.
Sales of hybrids were up 32 percent during the first quarter. Meanwhile, The Los Angeles Times reported that, in California, home of the country's largest auto market, the Toyota Prius beat the gasoline-powered Honda Civic as the bestselling vehicle in 2012.
All of this is not so much an indicator of the market as it is an indicator of the culture, and that's fortunate. The long-term viability of the energy and clean tech industry is based on three fundamentals:
• A cultural commitment to growth;
• Economic benefits achieved by reduced energy consumption; and
• Economic benefits realized by those who invest in renewable energy, energy efficiency and alternative energy.
The increase in hybrid vehicle sales represents a shift in culture because buyers are recognizing an acceptable return on their investment. In other words, a hybrid makes good economic sense with the benefit of environmental attributes that happen to have come along for the ride. In energy and clean technology, the economic benefits have driven the cultural shift.
Much has been said and written of late of the slowing of the alternative energy and clean technology market. But that analysis is merely a snapshot in time and not reflective of broader industry evolutions that are occurring at lightning speed. Consider this: When I was at the U.S. Department of Energy, the United States was a net importer of natural gas, with dwindling production, and an evolving crisis whose solution was more import terminals like those in Everett.
From Importer To Exporter
Today, seven years later (and even a few years ago), we are now a net exporter of natural gas and looking to sell it to Europe and Asia. This is a result of what the market calls transformative technology. Because of private and public investments and America's “can-do” tradition, our entrepreneurial problem solvers completely changed the market.
How important is this change? Enough that it's difficult to overstate its import. Massachusetts and New England are ferocious consumers of natural gas, and while our suppliers and distributors are working to increase capacity, we are, until that happens, at the proverbial end of the pipeline. That makes natural gas and other energy cost here high. However, with more domestic production, the cost is lower than it would be otherwise. That can benefit business, nonprofits and residential users alike.
New technology is now the market's lifeblood. With the sunset of government incentives (notwithstanding Massachusetts' continuing work to sustain a vibrant solar market), and the reversion to a pre 2009-styled investment model, the future market will be solidified by more sophisticated approaches to longer term development of clean technology projects. That's both good news and growth news. The more sophisticated the investor, the larger the project, and the greater the environmental benefits.
All of this means more permanent jobs. Massachusetts is and has been a global leader in energy and clean technology. Early investment in this sector has created technology that has moved the natural gas market. The growth in this market will enable more research and investment dollars to fuel the growth of the clean technology industry. As such, the state of the clean energy technology business in Massachusetts is good and growing. The economic benefits have driven a cultural shift. n
Vincent DeVito is a partner in Bowditch & Dewey LLP's Boston office, a member of the Institute for Energy and Sustainability in Worcester, and
a former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Energy for Policy and
International Affairs.
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