July 29th, 2008 · 1 Comment

The reform bill requires that utility companies enter long-term contracts with renewable energy developers to help developers of clean energy technology get financing. The law also allows people who own wind turbines and solar-generated power to sell their excess into the state’s electrical grid at reasonable rates.

It further establishes a Green Communities program that offers benefits to municipalities that make a commitment to efficiency and renewable energy.

Governors Schwarzenegger and Patrick, however, are not alone.

More Green Governators

Minnesota Governor Republican Tim Pawlenty is the key author of the Securing a Clean Energy Future (SCEF) Initiative which was the focus of the business portion of the NGA meeting earlier this month. At the four-day event, the NGA announced a state-industry partnership between the SCEF Initiative and General Motors Corporation.

The partnership will assist states in improving the availability of E-85 fueling stations. (E-85 is an alternative fuel that is made of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline.) The partnership calls for states to come up with a plan to install the E-85 pumps in strategic locations with GM lending their technological skills. Pawlenty has doubled Minnesota’s ethanol standard, thereby increasing the use of renewable fuels and lessening the state’s dependence on foreign oil. He also is responsible for the Clean Energy Technology Collaborative, which is a group that gives advice to the governor’s staff on technological advances and research in an effort to achieve the state’s energy goals. Not surprisingly, Pawlenty has been tapped as a possible vice presidential contender by the McCain camp.

Kansas Governor Democrat Kathleen Sebelius is a co-chair of the SCEF Initiative and like Pawlenty, has a keen interest in green issues. Earlier this year, despite congressional opposition, she vetoed the construction of two large-scale coal power plants proposed for Holcomb Station in western Kansas, stating:

“We must bridge the gap between our growing energy needs, and the time when carbon capturing technology is a commercial reality. We must move forward strategically – steering our state clear of the environmental, health and economic risks of massive new carbon emissions. Which is why I am disappointed that, for the third time in a row, the legislature is asking me to mandate that Kansas send the power we need – the power we create– to Colorado and Texas….I believe the middle ground to be a single power plant, which emits less pollution and whose priority customers are – an would always be – Kansans.”

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