Clean energy is booming, and clean energy manufacturing is booming with it. Regional clusters around the United States are well-positioned to benefit from this boom, which could be as powerful a driver for the manufacturing economy as the shale gas boom was earlier this decade. In an op-ed for Energy Collective, David Hart writes that, if the United States is to win its fair share of highly competitive global markets for clean-energy goods, the public, private, and academic sectors must work together effectively. The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Manufacturing USA institutes foster the kind of collaboration the nation needs, accelerating innovation and building workforce skills. However, federal funding for the Manufacturing USA institutes is currently required to sunset after only a few years. Congress and the executive branch should remove this restriction. DOE and other federal agencies should be allowed to fund the institutes on an ongoing basis, as long as private sector members continue to put in the lion’s share of each institute’s budget.
