The West and Renewable Energy Pt. 2 Governors, New Mexico, Policy Issues, The Big Strategy

Lumping onto Landon's post below, Kateri Callahan of the Alliance To Save Energy, has a good piece in the Albuquerque Tribune:

The Western Governors' Association, with noteworthy leadership from New Mexico's Bill Richardson, recently made an extraordinary commitment to energy efficiency that will yield significant benefits to the region's economy and environment.

By adopting the goal of increasing energy efficiency 20 percent by 2020, consumers and businesses in the 19-state region will see their energy bills reduced, freeing up resources for more productive uses. And every kilowatt saved means less emission of greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming.

...Richardson first set it on the path toward greater energy efficiency when he was the association's chairman and hosted its 2004 Energy Summit in Albuquerque.

That conference, which drew an impressive 700-plus attendees, adopted a resolution establishing a the advisory committee to work toward achieving 30,000 megawatts of clean energy by 2015.

That's a 30 percent increase in energy efficiency by 2020 and 25 years of transmission reliability and security.

After two years of study by a 250-member team, the energy efficiency goal turned out to be "eminently meetable,"a member of Richardson's staff said. It's also notable that a number of Richardson's staff were instrumental in overseeing the committee, guiding its various task forces - including one on energy efficiency - and crafting its final report.

The alliance urges states outside the West to pursue their own similar energy- and money-saving initiatives.

By embracing the potential of energy efficiency, the Western governors are leading the way toward making our nation more productive and our air cleaner. Other state governments and Congress can and should follow this example.

Read the entire piece.

Emmett O'Connell | July 8, 2006 | Comment on This Post (0 so far) Permalink: The West and Renewable Energy Pt. 2 Governors, New Mexico, Policy Issues, The Big Strategy

E-mail to a Friend
Your Name: Your Personal Note:	Your Email: Friends' Emails*: * Separate addresses with commas, semicolons, tabs, or line breaks.