California's green technology industry continues to perform well when measured against the rest of the U.S.
The state is also doing well on some metrics when compared to the world's top industrial nations.
The Green Innovation Index tracks emissions, energy, innovation and economics.
The report found a dramatic jump in solar capacity and the use of zero-emission vehicles in California.
That increase was especially prominent in the San Diego-Carlsbad region, which ranked second in the state in the amount of commercial and residential solar capacity.
RELATED: San Diego First To Hit Solar Power Cap In California
The nonpartisan group Next10 compiled the report with Beacon Economics.
Beacon's Adam Fowler said the report found California is growing economically without a lot more pollution.
"In the old days, emissions and pollution were directly tied to your economic output. As one went up, often times the other was hand in hand with it," Fowler said. "And as the report shows, California continues a decoupled relationship between those two metrics."
San Diego had the fourth most green-tech patents among the state's 26 largest metropolitan regions. The local region also ranked fourth in number of clean vehicle rebates.
Noel Perry, the founder of Next Ten, said California is efficient when it comes to how the state uses electricity.
"From a world perspective we are a leader in terms of reducing the emissions that come about as a result of economic activity. And from a renewable resource perspective we are leading all other states," Perry said.
The report credits California's legislative efforts to control climate change, as one reason the state ranks so high on the Innovation Index.
