Renewable Energy: Where the States are Headed

by Mike Koshmri, Solar Today The shift in political power following the November 2010 elections may threaten solar and wind policies in key states. Here’s what’s happening. Iowa Four years ago, former Democratic Gov. Chet Culver created the Iowa Power Fund, which provides matching grants and loans for renewable energy projects. The Power Fund has helped grow Iowa’s wind market into the nation’s second largest. New Republican Gov. Terry Barnstad campaigned against the Fund, telling the Sioux City Journal it was a "colossal failure" and the $25 million budget should be reallocated to reducing taxes. The Fund’s fate hangs in the balance. New Mexico One of the first moves for Republican Gov. Susana Martinez was to fire every member of the state’s Environmental Improvement Board for allegedly promoting "anti-business" policies. Then she appointed Harrison Schmitt, an outspoken climate change skeptic, to run New Mexico’s Energy, Minerals & Natural Resources Department. Martinez halted new greenhouse gas emission regulations that passed in the closing days of former Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson’s administration. The regulations were later reinstated by the state Supreme Court. Wisconsin Wisconsin’s solar and wind economies are booming, driven by a robust renewable energy portfolio standard (RPS), a statewide Focus […]

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