Seven U.S. governors urge president to back renewables

WASHINGTON, DC, US, July 20, 2005 (Refocus Weekly) Seven governors of U.S. states have urged president George Bush to make energy independence a “top national priority.”

The governors, all Democrats, asked Bush to lead “a bold national project to achieve environmentally and economically sustainable American energy independence within a decade.” The letter was timed to influence the members of the House and of the Senate who must reconcile the two versions of national energy legislation.

The governors, Rod Blagojevich of Illinois, Bill Richardson of New Mexico (energy secretary in the Clinton administration), Jim Doyle of Wisconsin, Christine Gregoire of Washington, Ted Kulongoski of Oregon, Janet Napolitano of Arizona and Brian Schweitzer of Montana, says the national security and energy needs of the United States “provide a mandate to rejuvenate our nation’s economy.”

“One point of urgency is the production tax credit for renewable energy projects,” stresses the letter. “We strongly believe that this should be immediately extended a full decade, to realize its positive incentive effects on new investment.”

They commended Bush for supporting bio-diesel “but we need your help on other fronts” with actions that would be “fiscally prudent and very useful in ramping up efforts already underway in the states.” Among the requests was a federal loan guarantee for state and municipal bonds to capitalize on diverse energy and income-generating projects such as green power facilities, and removal of regulatory barriers and improving incentives to support development of small scale distributed clean energy generation through net metering “thereby enhancing the security and reliability of the electrical grid, creating a level playing field in the market for alternative energy, and improving real time information flow and consumer choice.”

“Across the country, many of us have signed into law renewable portfolio standards and public system benefits charges that will guarantee a supply of energy from alternative sources,” they note. “And all of us have begun making the necessary investments in energy efficiency to lower our overall demand.”

The governors also called for federal investments to retrofit schools and public buildings to save money and improve student achievement, new incentives such as manufacturing tax credits to build the infrastructure needed to support the use of clean fuels technologies, and increasing federal support for cleaner technologies within the traditional energy sector, such as sequestration of carbon from coal-fired power plants and using wasted energy resources through co-generation and other technology.

“The above list is not meant to be exhaustive,” they add. “If this nation accepts the challenge of achieving sustainable energy independence, much work would need to be done but these are steps toward that goal, and they would help states progress toward it.”

“We ask that you declare energy independence a national priority, with a deadline on its achievement, and commit strong political leadership and necessary financial resources,” they say. “This would be a great challenge worthy of a great nation.”

“A serious national commitment to American energy independence addresses a host of challenges to the nation, including national security and defence against terrorism, global warming, national technology and manufacturing strength, relief for depressed farmers, and improvement in our foreign deficit,” the letter explains. “A national effort at sustainable energy independence would produce millions of good-paying jobs and trillions of dollars in new private income and domestic investment.”

“America needs to think big and rise to our potential by tapping the can-do spirit core to our shared history,” says Gregoire. “In Washington state, we are working to create alternative energy solutions to meet future needs, and we encourage support for similar measures at the federal level.”


Click here for more info...

Back to contents...