
The Obama administration recently released a document reiterating its commitment to green energy initiatives and laying out goals to make the United States the worldwide clean energy leader.
Pointing out that investment in renewable energy technology could exceed $2 trillion worldwide by 2021, the White House said clean energy innovation is an economic as well as environmental priority.
According to the document, the United States is among the top 10 nations in the world for installed wind and solar technology, but lags behind China for installed wind capacity, and trails Germany, Spain, Japan and Italy for solar capacity.
To jump start the country's solar energy sector, the administration has launched a "sun shot" program to make solar power cost-competitive with fossil fuels by 2020.
A recent Ernst & Young index painted a more positive picture of the United States' solar energy situation. According to E&Y, the United States was the number one most attractive market for solar project investments during the first quarter of 2011.
The United States ranked number two on the E&Y index for its overall attractiveness as a market for clean energy investment. Reflecting this high ranking, Vice President Joe Biden recently announced that in the last two years, five innovative clean energy companies have augmented federal assistance with more than $100 million from private investors.

