Clean tech to bring back factory jobs?

Although labor is cheaper in China, shipping costs are going up, primarily because of fossil fuels.

"You could spend $2 to $3 a panel just to ship it (drywall), and that's just to get it to the dock. You'd then have to spend another $3 to $4 to ship it by rail," he said. "You can't do that if you plan to sell it for $10 to $20 a board."

As a result, Serious Materials will open its first factory, which will be capable of churning out 400,000 square feet of drywall a year, in the United States. It will likely also build its next two factories in the States as well, regionally spaced out to serve different markets.

Shipping materials from China also "blows the whole point about zero carbon dioxide," he added. "You're on the wrong side of the energy curve."

State governments are also offering substantial incentives--free rent in industrial parks, tax holidays, loans, grants--to woo these companies. "States do not want to be left out of the next industrial revolution," Surace said.