States encourage renewable energy use

More than half of the U.S.public live in states that have established targets to encourage greater use of renewable energy sources to generate electricity. Twenty-two states and the District of Columbia have set goals to spur development of renewable energy, according to a report released last week by the Pew Center on Global Climate Change. The goals vary from producing 105 MW of power per year from renewable sources for Iowa to using renewable sources to generate 33% of the total electricity used in California. Implementation times range from a few to 15 years. The report notes that most states believe the development of renewable energy will promote economic development and job creation, and it argues that the continuing growth of renewable energy requires federal aid and encouragement in the form of more R&D and uniform standards for grid interconnections. Also last week, the governors of the 19 states in the Western Governors' Association agreed on a plan to install, by 2015, 30,000 MW of clean electricity, which would be generated from renewable energy sources, natural gas, and "nonpolluting" coal.