Top 5 states in the U.S. Clean Energy Leadership Index (Source: Clean Edge)

New clean energy index shows geographic disparity

According to a new index, California, Oregon, Massachusetts, Washington and Colorado have shown the most clean energy leadership of the fifty U.S. states. Looking at eighty indicators and four thousand data points across three categories—clean-energy technology, policy, and capital—the first U.S. Clean Energy Leadership Index aims to help clean tech decision makers navigate the complex and dynamic terrain of state-level clean energy analysis.

Clean Edge, the cleantech research firm that created the new index is billing it as the most comprehensive comparative index looking at clean energy leadership at the state level. And they just may be right.

“The industry needs to move beyond the days of using disaggregated and fragmented data to bolster subjective political claims about a state's or region's clean-tech prowess or as the basis of fundamental and significant business decisions," says Clean Edge co-founder and managing director Ron Pernick.

Rounding out the top ten in this year's index were the three more Northeastern states:  New York, Connecticut and New Jersey; and a pair of Midwestern states: Illinois and Minnesota.

The geographic regions with the most states in the top ten were unsurprisingly in the West and Northeast, but also in the Midwest.  In addition to the strong overall showings from Illinois and Minnesota, Iowa led in utility-scale clean electricity generation as a percentage of total electricity.  14% of Iowa's in-state generation is provided by wind power.

And with its recent focus on developing electric vehicle and automotive battery technologies, Michigan showed its continued leadership in intellectual capital, taking the top spot for clean-energy patents.

And that leadership in intellectual capital played out just two weeks ago when GM announced it would be hiring 1,000 new engineers to work on research and development its electric-drive vehicle program, with most of the jobs at the GM Technical Center in Warren, Mich., fifteen miles north of Detroit.

At the other end of the clean energy leadership spectrum were states in the South and across most Plains states. And without any kind of overarching federal leadership, or the hope of any considering Republican wins in the  recent election, the disparity between clean energy leaders and laggards will likely continue to grow for at least the next two years.