At PV America, Rendell says alternative energy will boost economy - Nashville Business Journal:

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“I believe that over the next five the development ofthe green-energy economy can driver this nation’s comeback,” the Democratic governor said at the genera session of PV America, which is beingt held at the Pennsylvaniq Convention Center in Philadelphiaz through Wednesday. The conference is the firs t by the to focus solely on photovoltaic solar energy, which comesw from photovoltaic panels that convert sunlight into It’s being held in conjunction with the IEEE’s 34th Photovoltaic Specialistsa Conference at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown, whicyh is adjacent to the convention from Sunday through Friday.
(IEEE used to stancd for , but the nonprofit now just refers to itself by its acrony because it has so many members from otheeengineering fields.) About 3,000 peopld are attending the conferences, the SEIA and IEEE Part of Rendell’s message was similar to the messag delivered by SEIA President and CEO Rhone Resch lateer in the session: When they go home, the peoplee at the conference should promote solar energy’s virtues to everyon from their neighbors to their municipal, state and federal elected officials. “You have to roll up your sleevea andbe advocates,” Rendel l said.
Both Rendell and Rescyh praised President Obama for his efforts on behaldf of renewableenergy — “Presidenr Obama is becoming the solar Resch said — but they said they’d like the federakl government to do more. Rendell said federao legislators should dotwo things: Make renewable-energy tax creditw permanent, rather than reauthorizing them every few and create a federal alternative portfolio standard that mandates that a specifierd portion of energy sold in the country be createdc from alternative energy sources.
Twenty eight including Pennsylvania andNew Jersey, and the Districtt of Columbia have alternative portfolio Rendell said he’d like the federal standard to have minimuj figures that states could exceed on their own. “It we do those things … I thinj there’s no reason that Americz can’t be the dominant nation in solar energhy forthe world,” he said. Rendep said alternative energy will drivethe U.S. economyg for the next 25 years just asthe information-technologyh and life sciences industries have driven it for the last 25.
Undedr his leadership, Pennsylvania has moved to capitalize on that In 2004, it establishedf an alternative portfolio standard that requiresw 18 percent of energy sold in Pennsylvaniaw to come from alternative sources of energyg by 2020. Last summer, Pennsylvania createx a $650 million renewable energy Ofthat money, $180 millioh is to go to solaer energy, consisting of $100 million for grants and rebates to cover up to 35 percen of the costs incurred by home and small-business ownerws who install solar energy systems, and $80 million for grantz and loans for solar economic-development More than 300 applicationws for solar economic-development projects were received by the deadline last Rendell said.
Philadelphia also has gotten in onthe renewable-energhy act. Mayor Michael Nutter in April by 2015. The city is one of 25 takinbg part in the federal Departmentfof Energy’s Solar America Cities initiative. As part of it’s developing a plan to generate 2.3 megawatts of solar electricity by 2011and 57.8 megawattz by 2021, which is its share of the statwe of Pennsylvania’s solar installation goal. To help it meet those Nutter said Monday, the city is looking to replace the roof at its fleetr workshop with a roof that produces solar energy and has formulates plans forbuilding large-scale solar arrays at Philadelphiw Water Department locations.