First Solar, Inc. (FSLR), General Electric Company (GE) And How China’s Clean Energy Investment Puts America to Shame

Worldwide, clean energy investments fell by 11% in 2012 to $269 billion while investments in Asia grew 16% to $101 billion.

China accounted for 30% of all clean energy investment by G-20 countries in 2012.

There are a few reasons China is so gung-ho about green energy right now. Chinese officials see wind and solar as emerging industries they can dominate with a large investment early in the business cycle. Considering the number of bankruptcies in solar over the past two years and the almost unanimous blame management puts on China, the strategy is working.

There’s also an environmental aspect to China’s pursuit of clean energy. This view of Shanghai covered in smog is an increasingly common occurrence over large parts of China:

Source: Wikimedia.

Earlier this year, Beijing residents were told to stay inside as smog covered the city, and the U.S. Embassy said pollution monitors had air quality at hazardous levels in 19 of 25 days. China has fueled much of its economic growth with coal, and the rapid growth of the middle class has congested the country with gas-burning vehicles. Clean energy can offset some of those pollutants.

Dominating the future of energy
There are a fleeting few U.S. companies that can now stake claim to a significant piece of the clean energy future. First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) and SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ:SPWR) appear to be winners in the solar industry, and they’ve even turned to China as a potential customer for their products. But they still have to fight off fierce competition from China. General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) is using its sheer size to stay afloat in wind power and is still investing in solar. The sad truth is that most of the other large manufacturers in wind and solar have fallen by the wayside.

China has made a concerted effort to dominate the future of clean energy, and by the look of it, China is winning. Until the U.S. decides that renewable energy is a necessary part of our economic future and creates the policy and infrastructure necessary for it to thrive, China will continue to outspend us. To me, that’s a shame.

The article China’s Clean Energy Investment Puts America to Shame originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Travis Hoium manages an account that owns shares of SunPower. He personally owns shares of SunPower and also has January 2015 $7, $5, and $15 long call options on SunPower. The Motley Fool owns shares of General Electric.

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