In an unprecedented move, Governor John Rowland signed Executive Order 32 which commits the State of Connecticut to running all state government buildings on 100% renewable energy by 2050.
Connecticut will purchase 20% renewable energy for the state government's total electricity needs by the year 2010 and 50% by 2020.
"The quickest path to cleaner air and reducing America's dependence on foreign oil is to increase demand for non-polluting electric power made from cleaner, renewable sources such as wind, solar, and fuel cell power," said Governor Rowland. "With my order today, we can begin to clean our air, improve the health of our children and ensure our long-term energy security."
Connecticut's voluntary purchase of 20 percent by 2010 is the first in New England and among the most aggressive in the nation. Its commitment to 100% is the first such commitment in the nation.
The purchase of clean power for state buildings, colleges and universities was an issue promoted by Connecticut-based SmartPower, a non-profit marketing campaign dedicated to promoting clean, renewable energy and supported by the Governor's Steering Committee on Climate Change, which formally recommended the proposal to the Governor last month.
New England was the first region to tackle GHG as a shared concern, beginning with the New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers (NEG/ECP) climate change workshop, held in March 2001. Last fall, the New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers passed a resolution calling on the federal Environmental Protection Agency to reconsider its proposed revisions to the New Source Review provisions of the Clean Air Act. In response to the NEG/ECP workshop, Governor Rowland brought together a group of top level state officials to keep his GHG initiatives on track. That group, the Governor's Steering Committee on Climate Change, reached out to citizen stakeholders and asked for recommendations on reducing GHG statewide.
In response, over 80 businesses, non-profit organizations, state and local government agencies and academic institutions gathered on numerous occasions in public forums. The stakeholders came back with suggestions covering five different areas in which specific actions, including legislative and regulatory changes, can improve the state's environment. The five areas addressed by the report are electricity, agriculture/forestry/waste, residential/commercial/industrial, transportation, and education.
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