Iberdrola, Steelworkers, UCS join in call for RES By Tom Gray

High-ranking officials of a wind energy company, a major union, and a major environmental group joined in calling for a national Renewable Electricity Standard in an opinion article published in Friday’s issue of Carbon Market North America.

"The urgent need for a U.S. renewable electricity standard" was authored by Don Furman, Senior Vice President for External Affairs of Iberdrola Renewables; Tom Conway, International Vice President of the United Steelworkers; and Marchant Wentworth, Deputy Legislative Director of the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Note the authors, "The U.S. simply cannot afford to end the year without a national renewable electricity standard. Key renewable industries are seeing significant drops in manufacturing and major analysts and fund managers are downgrading the U.S.’s renewable energy market potential. Meanwhile, investment overseas – particularly in China – is skyrocketing."

They point to several recent warning signals, including a finding by Ernst & Young that China has pulled ahead of the U.S. as the best place to invest in renewable energy and news that new U.S. wind turbines installations in the first half of 2010 dropped 71% from the comparable period a year earlier. Making sure Americans have "family-sustaining jobs" in emerging clean energy industries, they conclude, "not a partisan issue–it’s a pocketbook issue."

By Tom Gray, www.awea.org/blog/