Kenaf International in Raymondville, Texas is producing fourteen products, including paper and interior door panel for autos, from Kenaf, a fast growing annual crop. Production of new capital equipment is another level of industrial opportunity opened by more efficient resource use and increased use of renewable materials. Some industries will require new processing and manufacturing equipment to reduce wastes, reprocess wastes, and to use renewable materials. See green chemistry page. Renewable energy Maturing of renewable energy technologies will provide another driver for industrialization.
Wind power is now cost-competitive with fossil fuel energy sources.
Manufacture of energy efficient equipment is a related opportunity. Restoration Remediation of past environmental damage is already a major sector of environmental industry in the developed world. Industrial ecology suggests that full restoration of ecosystem functioning is a necessary next step, not just cleanup of toxics. Design for disassembly, automated disassembly, etc.