A report released this month from The Pew Charitable Trust shows that the clean energy economy is poised for explosive growth. The report highlights investments being made today in clean energy that will drive future growth.

The study breaks up the clean energy economy into the following five categories:

1) Clean Energy

2) Energy Efficiency

3) Environmentally Friendly Production

4) Conservation and Pollution Mitigation, and

5) Training and Support
Today, the clean energy economy accounts for 15 percent of all global venture capital investment, and is growing rapidly. Investment growth in the U.S. in 2008 outpaced international growth.

Venture capital investment in the U.S. in 2008 totaled $5.9 billion, which represents a 48 percent increase over 2007. Businesses in the Clean Energy and Energy Efficiency categories attracted roughly 80 percent of these investments.