The leaders of the renewable energy industry have joined together to explain in detail what support they would like to receive from the new administration and Congress.
The leaders of the American Wind Energy Association, Geothermal Energy Association, National Hydropower Association and Solar Energy Industries Association yesterday released a statement saying that the fast-growing renewable energy sector is poised to help lead the U.S. economic recovery; however, the federal government must take specific actions to ensure that the growth continues, given the current economic realities.
The industry leaders said president-elect Obama’s commitment to key policies will spur substantial growth in America’s clean renewable energy industries and create millions of new renewable energy jobs.
They called for immediate action to adjust renewable energy tax credit policies so incentives work as intended given current economic conditions.
In addition, they called on the 111th Congress to:
- Adopt a national renewable electricity (portfolio) standard to ensure that at least 10% of electricity consumed in the U.S. is derived from renewable energy sources by 2012, and at least 25% by 2025
- Approve a minimum five-year extension of the federal renewable energy production tax credit (PTC) and additional funding for the Clean Renewable Energy Bonds (CREBs) program
- Issue an Executive Order expanding federal procurement of renewable energy generation to meet the government’s substantial energy supply needs
- Launch a major initiative to support investment in the nation’s interstate electrical grid infrastructure and smart-grid technology to deliver green energy from areas with renewable resources to population centers and to support distributed power generation
- Invest $30 billion in 2009 for financing options that support new project development and installations for all renewable energy technologies as part of the Administration’s commitment to investment of $150 billion over the next ten years in clean energy technologies
- Adopt a cap-and-trade regime to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that rewards production of clean renewable energy.
"If the Administration and Congress can quickly implement these policies, renewable energy growth will help turn around the economic decline while at the same time addressing some of our most pressing national security and environmental problems," the statement said.
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