According to a recent Pew Charitable Trust report entitled, “Who’s Winning the Clean Energy Race,” the United States overtook China in green energy investments during 2011 after lagging behind for the previous two years.

When you add up asset finance, public markets, venture capital, and small distributed investments together, we spent $48.1 billion compared to China’s $45.5 billion.

Part of this growth stems from a number of expiring U.S. incentives. Essentially, developers, manufacturers, and investors in the States rushed to fund pipelined projects in order to take advantage of renewable energy tax breaks and rebates that were about to be shelved.

In other words, green energy bragging rights for 2012 and beyond could very well go back to China now that this last-minute rush is over.

via Winners and Losers in the Renewable Energy Race | US Solar Institute.