Sarah Palin is now at the forefront of a National Movement to switch to renewable energy. And she is receiving praise from all, including conservation and environmental groups who have criticized her in the past.At a news conference announcing her statewide energy plan, Palin called for 50 percent of Alaska's power to be generated by renewable resources by 2025.
I have said several times on this blog that it would be smart for Sarah Palin to play to her strength and become the leading national voice on Energy Independence. It sets her up nicely for a run for President.
This looks like the first step in that direction.
Dan Joling of the Associated Press outlines the Governor's plan. It addresses both urban Alaska, including Anchorage, Fairbanks and other cities that make up the Railbelt, and the hundreds of Alaska villages off the road system and power grid.
Palin called for six state utilities that serve most of the population to stop traditional infighting and take a regional approach for new power generation projects that could lower costs.
Palin also unveiled a guide listing alternative energy assets of every village in Alaska. Those resources can be developed to wean far-flung villages off electricity generated by burning diesel fuel that must be imported by barge or airplane.
"This guide will help us move to a future where, ideally, 50 percent of Alaska's electricity is generated from renewable resources by 2025," Palin said.
President-elect Barack Obama has called for 25 percent nationwide by 2025.
About 24 percent of Alaska's power already comes from renewable energy, mostly hydropower from the Alaska Panhandle. Reaching Palin's goal will take major projects to serve Alaska cities that are beyond the reach of single utilities, said Pat Lavin, an attorney for the National Wildlife Federation.
He called Palin's announcement "a defining moment in Alaska's history."
"We just became a leader among states in committing to renewable energy as the power source of the future," he said.
Alaska conservation organizations have been at odds with Palin over her push for petroleum development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the outer continental shelf off Alaska's coast.
Kate Troll, director of the Alaska Conservation Alliance, said the governor's announcement was the first time she has officially voiced the importance of consolidating utilities, using more fuel-efficient engines, and getting rural communities off diesel.
"Together, these goals make a very forward-thinking energy plan," Troll said.
Deborah Williams of Alaska Conservation Solutions urged Palin to have codify her goal to aid utilities in planning.
"That goal is nationally significant," she said.
Palin said she wants the state to continue to be a major supplier of energy to the nation but planned to take an unprecedented effort to inventory and analyze options within the state.
Joe Balash, Palin's aide on oil and gas, said there will be a continuing effort to find new power generation sources for the Railbelt, likely through a new corporation that can handle projects beyond the capability of individual utilities. Talks have been ongoing with utilities, he said, and legislation likely will be introduced in the 90-day 2009 session, which kicks off Tuesday.
The community guide is a primer on alternative energy sources as well as an inventory for projects. For example, the accompanying documentation show that Scammon Bay, a mile from the Bering Sea in western Alaska, has the potential for a wind-diesel hybrid project, and that 700 miles to the northeast on the Yukon River, the village of Circle has potential for generating electricity with geothermal resources.
Palin energy adviser Steve Haagenson, who oversaw the village report, also unveiled the first 77 projects picked for grants from the $100 million Alaska Renewable Energy Fund.
They range from wind farms in the Aleutians, Kodiak and Delta Junction to a landfill gas recovery project in Anchorage.
This plan is absolutely brilliant and is getting high praise from both Conservatives and Conservationists.
Look for Sarah Palin to be talking energy first and foremost from here on out. It is the issue of this decade and Sarah Palin is setting herslf up nicely as a National Leader.
Click here for more, including video from KTUU in Anchorage.
4 comments:
There could be no better investment in America than to invest in America becoming energy independent! We need to utilize everything in out power to reduce our dependence on foreign oil including using our own natural resources. Create cheap clean energy, new badly needed green jobs, and reduce our dependence on foreign oil. OPEC will continue to cut production until they achieve their desired 80-100. per barrel. The high cost of fuel this past year seriously damaged our economy and society. Oil is finite. We are using oil globally at the rate of 2X faster than new oil is being discovered. We need to take some of these billions in bail out bucks and bail ourselves out of our dependence on foreign oil. Jeff Wilson has a really good new book out called The Manhattan Project of 2009 Energy Independence Now. He explores our uses of oil besides gasoline, our depletion, out reserves and stores as well as viable options to replace oil.Oil is finite, it will run out in the not too distant future. WE need to take some of these billions in bail out bucks and bail America out of it's dependence on foreign oil. The historic high price of gas this past year did serious damage to our economy and society. WE should never allow others to have that much power over our economy again. I wish every member of congress would read this book too.
www.themanhattanprojectof2009.com
Hello again! Could you please help me share this new TeamSarah video with everyone you can? Keep up the great work! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UzBHPpBmI8
This is a wonderful concept for sure. The one thing that worries me is that both as mayor of Wasilla and as governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin has a record of spending far more federal dollars per citizen than is spent anywhere else in the nation. Let's keep a watch and make sure that Alaska doesn't paralyze the conservation efforts in the rest of the nation by disproportionate federal spending for Alaska's energy needs. Let's make sure Alaskans spend their fair share on this worthy goal.
We could power the world just with Sarah's hot air.
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