US grabs lead over China in clean energy race

The United States has regained the lead in the clean energy race, investing $48 billion last year to surpass China, which held the world's top spending spot since 2009, said a study Wednesday.

The US surge in private investment was a 42 percent increase over 2010 and saw Washington maintain its lead worldwide in both venture capital and research and development cash, said the Pew Charitable Trusts annual report on clean
energy.

However, the US boom was largely driven by expiring tax incentives, highlighting "a persistent phenomenon in which the country fails to deploy into the marketplace the clean energy innovations it creates in the laboratory," it said.

China, which fell to second, invested $45.5 billion last year, a one percent increase over 2010, but maintained its global lead in wind energy investment and in solar manufacturing, said the report.

Experts say a key difference between the United States and China is in how they attract investment -- China by having solid green energy policies that reassure investors and the United States by offering tax breaks for investment.