Economic opportunity in the clean power sector abounds, according to Phyllis Cuttino, director of the Pew Climate and Energy program. Cuttino’s statements come in conjunction with a recent Pew report, “Global Clean Power: A $2.3 Trillion Opportunity.” For the U.S., Cuttino said, there is a $342 billion dollar opportunity over the next decade. “The question for policy makers is really, will they seize the opportunity or will they let it pass them by,” she said.

The recent Pew report comes as a follow-on to an earlier report titled, “Who’s Winning the Clean Energy Race? Competition and Opportunity in the World’s Largest Economies,” which, again, focuses on G-20 nations. “Our report showed that the center of gravity for clean energy investments is really shifting to Asia,” Cuttino said. “Together, India, Japan, South Korea and China will constitute about 40 percent of all investments in the global clean power sector over the next decade.” The recent report also shows that for the first time, China led the world in attracting clean energy investment, while the U.S. fell to second.

Based on three scenarios, the report breaks down the investment opportunity if a certain scenario were to take place. The first is based on current policies, which assumes G-20 countries fail to adopt any new clean energy policies outside of those currently in place. The second, called the Copenhagen Policies, is based on the assumption that pledges made at the 2009 Copenhagen climate change conference take place. And, the third, or the Enhanced Clean Energy Policies, includes the belief that G-20 countries will pursue policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and “maximize clean energy investments.” If the U.S. moves forward without adopting any new clean energy policies, there will be $245 billion in investments between now and 2020. If the U.S. implements policies consistent to the Copenhagen strategy, there will be almost $260 billion, and if the U.S. takes an enhanced clean energy approach, between now and 2020, there will be $342 billion worth of investment.

While the report points out the importance of investing in wind and solar, there is also a benefit for biomass. “The good news for biomass,” the report notes, along with geothermal, waste energy and small hydro power, “is that, collectively, investment levels is this category rise more than wind and solar if countries implement more ambitious clean energy policies.” The report goes on to say that, “Overall, investment could grow by 263 percent to $69 billion in 2020 under the enhanced policy scenario. Biomass and energy from waste, and small hydro, receive the most financing.”

In 2009, asset finance led the way for clean energy investment at 61 percent, followed by small and residential projects at 13 percent, public markets and new equity at 9 percent, government R&D at 7 percent, corporate R&D at 6 percent and lastly venture capital at 1 percent.

“Energy isn’t a political issue,” Cuttino said. “It’s not a partisan issue, and clearly there is a huge economic opportunity for the U.S.” The extraordinary worldwide growth in clean energy investment over the past five years has been defined, the report notes, by a simple fact: “Where supportive clean energy policies are adopted, investment follows.”