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Pro-Wind Governors Urge Renewable Energy Reforms

http://energy.law360.com/articles/155581

By Melissa Lipman

Law360, New York (March 16, 2010) -- A group representing 29 governors called on the federal government Tuesday to promote wind energy by creating a standard for renewable electricity and developing a new interstate electric transmission grid.

The Governors' Wind Energy Coalition also urged Congress and the White House to support wind research and development in coastal areas, to make it easier to get permits for off- and on-shore wind energy projects and to extend or set up tax credit programs that would benefit wind energy, in a report of recommendations for 2010.

The report further supported expanding the U.S. Department of Energy's efforts to work with both the states and the wind industry to provide funding to help speed innovation for wind energy technology.

Rhode Island Gov. Donald L. Carcieri, who serves as the coalition's vice chair, argued that Tuesday's recommendations "could not be more timely."

Though the U.S. House of Representatives passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act in 2009, similar legislation has made little progress in the U.S. Senate.

"It is our hope that these recommendations - and the national bipartisan consensus they represent - will advance the energy deliberations now under way in Congress," Carcieri said in a statement.

The coalition called for the federal government to set a minimum renewable energy standard that requires utilities to use renewable sources to provide at least 10 percent of their electricity. Without setting some sort of floor, the country won't get the most out of its wind industry and infrastructure, the report said.

Wind energy likewise won't reach its full potential without major improvements to the nation's electric transmission system, the coalition said. The existing grid is designed to meet the needs of local markets, but it is not structured to send large amounts of electricity from the rural areas where renewable energy can be harnessed to urban and industrial areas that would use the bulk of that energy.

The federal government should help the states coordinate the construction of the new high-voltage lines necessary to move renewable resource-generated electricity to high-use areas, the report said.

The coalition also asked Congress to pass legislation that would make sure wind projects on federal lands receive an "efficient and timely" review. The group further emphasized the need for coordination among the different permitting processes required to build wind projects, calling for the White House to set up a pilot program to streamline the permitting process across agencies and jurisdictions.

The governors' group also urged the federal government to provide research funding to develop new turbines, offshore installation and mooring techniques and more cost-effective ways to put transmission lines farther from the shoreline.

The report likewise supports an expansion of DOE's wind energy program in order to provide more public-private wind technology research opportunities. Improving the manufacturing process for wind power technology could provide a boost to U.S. manufacturing while expanding the country's export opportunities.

The federal government could also support investment in wind technology by extending the U.S. Department of Treasury's grant program under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to create a long-term renewable energy production tax credit that expands the number of investors eligible to participate, according to the report. The governors seek a five-year extension of the tax credit in order to encourage investors to put money into setting up wind technology manufacturing in the U.S.

"Americans have great expectations for the nation's energy future, and these recommendations from the nation's governors to Congress and the administration meet those expectations," said Iowa Gov. Chet Culver, who chairs the coalition.