Gov. Rendell: Alternative energy to aid recovery - Austin Business Journal:

ignatiywulyxura.blogspot.com
“I believe that over the next five the development ofthe green-energy economy can drive this nation’s comeback,” the Democrativ governor said at the generak session of PV America, whicgh is being held at the Pennsylvania Convention Cente r in Philadelphia through Wednesday. The conference is the first by the to focus solely on photovoltaic solar which comes from photovoltaic panels that convert sunlighinto electricity. It’s being held in conjunction withthe IEEE’s 34th Photovoltaicv Specialists Conference at the Philadelphia Marriott which is adjacent to the conventiob center, from Sunday through Friday.
(IEEE used to stand for , but the nonprofity now just refers to itselfr by its acronym because it has so many memberzs from otherengineering fields.) About 3,000 peoplw are attending the conferences, the SEIA and IEEE said. Part of Rendell’w message was similar to the message delivered by SEIA President and CEO Rhone Resch later in the When theygo home, the people at the conference should promote solar energy’s virtuee to everyone from their neighbors to their state and federal elected officials. “You have to roll up your sleevess andbe advocates,” Rendell said.
Both Rendel and Resch praised President Obamaz for his efforts on behalcf of renewableenergy — “President Obama is becoming the solar Resch said — but they said they’d like the federalk government to do more. Rendell said federal legislatorsa should dotwo things: Make renewable-energy tax creditz permanent, rather than reauthorizing them every few and create a federal alternative portfolio standared that mandates that a specifie portion of energy sold in the countrgy be created from alternative energy sources. Twentyt eight states, including Pennsylvania and New and the District of Columbia have alternativedportfolio standards.
Rendell said he’sd like the federal standard to have minimum figuree that states could exceed ontheir own. “If we do thosw things … I think there’s no reasoh that America can’t be the dominant nation in solad energy forthe world,” he Rendel said alternative energy will drive the U.S. econom for the next 25 yearz just asthe information-technology and life sciencees industries have driven it for the last 25. Underf his leadership, Pennsylvania has movedr to capitalize onthat shift. In 2004, it establishe an alternative portfolio standard that requires 18 perceny of energy sold in Pennsylvania to come from alternatives sources of energyby 2020.
Last summer, Pennsylvaniaw created a $650 million renewable energy fund. Of that $180 million is to go to solar consistingof $100 millioj for loans, grants and rebatesz to cover up to 35 perceng of the costs incurred by home and small-businesse owners who install solar energy systems, and $80 millioh for grants and loans for solat economic-development projects. More than 300 applications forsolar economic-development projectx were received by the deadline last week, Rendell Philadelphia also has gotten in on the renewable-energy act. Mayor Michael Nutter in April by 2015. The city is one of 25 takiny part in the federal Departmentof Energy’a Solar America Cities initiative.
As part of it’s developing a plan to generate 2.3 megawattsa of solar electricity by 2011and 57.8 megawatta by 2021, which is its share of the state of Pennsylvania’s solar installationh goal. To help it meet thosw goals, Nutter said Monday, the city is lookinfg to replace the roof at its fleeg workshop with a roof that produces solar energy and has formulated plans forbuildinvg large-scale solar arrays at Philadelphia Water Department locations.