WASHINGTON—The global transition to clean energy will hinge on developing and adopting new innovations that drive price and performance improvements in a diverse array of clean energy sources and uses. States and regions have important roles to play in that effort, bringing resources to bear through geographically concentrated networks of technology and service firms, research institutions, and nonprofit and public sector entities.
On that score, Vermont, South Dakota, and Alaska are the top-performing U.S. states, according to a new index compiled by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF). The index assesses the potential contributions and output of state and regional energy innovation ecosystems across nine functional categories using indicators such as federal and private research funding, scientific and engineering publications and patents, and state and regional policies and public opinion. At the regional level, Staunton-Stuarts Draft area near Charlottesville, Virginia, emerges as the top performer, followed by the Burlington area in Vermont, and Lynchburg, Virginia.
“Vibrant regional energy innovation ecosystems are important for any national net-zero strategy,” said ITIF Senior Fellow David M. Hart, who coauthored the new report. “Congress passed landmark bills in 2021 and 2022 to support states and regions seeking to strengthen their energy innovation ecosystems. Quite a few states and regions had already begun to do so before Congress created these new federal programs, and many more are now responding to these opportunities. ITIF’s State and Regional Energy Innovation Index, while inevitably imperfect, provides a baseline against which to measure the future impact of recent federal legislation.”
The index assesses nine categories of clean energy innovation system functions and 14 areas of technological specialization in all 50 states plus Washington D.C., as well as 382 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs).
ITIF released the index with a summary report and interactive data visualization tools that provide detailed profiles of each state and region. An overview of the best- and worst-performing states follows:
Table 1: Top-Performing States
1. Vermont - Strength: Start-ups; Weakness: Demonstration projects; Tech Strength: Energy storage; Tech Weakness: Nuclear energy
2. South Dakota - Strength: Technology adoption; Weakness: Publications; Tech Strength: Clean energy manufacturing; Tech Weakness: Nuclear energy
3. Alaska - Strength: Economic development goals; Weakness: Technology adoption; Tech Strength: Grid technologies; Tech Weakness: Clean energy manufacturing
Table 1 also lists Hawaii as the lowest-ranking state:
51. Hawaii - Strength: Federal R&D spending; Weakness: Economic development goals; Tech Strength: Solar energy; Tech Weakness: Grid technologies
Similarly, Table 2 highlights top-performing regions:
1. Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA - Strength: Clean energy employment; Weakness: Societal values; Tech Strength: Energy efficiency; Tech Weakness: Bio-energy
2. Burlington-South Burlington, VT - Strength: Start-ups; Weakness: Demonstration projects; Tech Strength: Transportation; Tech Weakness: Carbon capture
At the bottom is Rome, GA:
382. Rome, GA - Strength: Start-ups; Weaknesses include societal values across various technological aspects.
Economic development organizations in the United States are increasingly cognizant of the potential benefits of clean energy innovation. Recent federal legislation has amplified that awareness providing resources to act on it.
To further enhance the prospective impact of new federal programs supporting state-level initiatives in clean energy innovation ecosystems ITIF offered several policy recommendations:
- Continued support for development strategies based on clean energy innovation.
- Use evaluation criteria enabling clean energy innovation.
- Support data collection for better-informed decisions.
- Improve coordination among federal programs to reduce administrative burdens.
“Regional innovation ecosystems have the potential to become vital engines of the global transition to low-carbon energy,” said Chad A. Smith from George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy & Government who co-authored this study.
Read the report or explore data visualizations for more details.
