The Trump administration's 2018 budget proposal would impose anearly 20% cut onthe Office of Science within the Department of Energy ' a total of $900 million. It would also eliminate the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, which supports moon-shot energy projects too risky for private investment, as well as loan programs like the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Program, which provided early support to Tesla.As researchers Devashree Saha and Mark Muroat the Brookings Institution note in a newreport, those changes couldstunt the development of viable clean energy sources. The report analyzes data on clean-tech patents from 2011 to 2016, and rankscities based on which ones boast the highest number of patentsfiled.In determining the list, the researchers tooka variety of sectors into account, including bioenergy, hydropower, solar power, and energy storage.Here are the top seven regionswith the highest number of clean-tech patents per million residents:Ann Arbor, Michigan: 564San Jose, Sunnyvale, and Santa Clara, California: 538Columbus, Indiana: 499Bay City, Michigan: 430Durhamand Chapel Hill, North Carolina: 313Boulder, Colorado: 249Ithaca, New York: 203In Brookings' study of 381cities, Ann Arbor had the most patents for clean technologies relative to the city'ssize, especially in the categories of transportation and energy storage. This may be because Ann Arboris home tothe University of Michigan, whichhas an institute devoted to alternative energy research.According to the report,186,500 patents have been granted in the US since 2011 across 14 clean-tech categories.(It's important to remember, however, that researcherscan patent inventions regardlessof whether theconcepts have been shown to work).The report also highlights the extent to which clean-tech patenting is concentrated in few categories. Advanced green materials (e.g. alternatives to plastic), energy efficiency, and transportation (e.g. hydrogen fuel cells for planes) each accounted for 18% of the total patenting during the time period analyzed. Categories likegeothermal energy and hydropower, on the other hand, each made up for less than 1% of patents since 2011.The number of clean-tech patents granted has actually declined in recent years. Between 2014 and 2016, it decreased by 9 percent, according to the report.Saha and Muropredict that if the Trump administration's proposed budget moves forward, the number of clean-tech patents would plummeteven more."At just the moment when the US clean energy innovation enterprise may be hitting a flat spot, the Trump administration has proposed draconian federal budget cuts that raise new concerns about the future of the nation's commitment to low-carbon economic development,"the researcherswrote.Check out the full interactive mapof patent distribution on Brookings' site.SEE ALSO:GE is building America's first offshore wind farm with turbines twice as tall as the Statue of LibertyJoin the conversation about this storyNOW WATCH: Tesla will begin selling its Solar Roof this year ' here's everything you need to know
Click here to read full news..
