At PV America, Rendell says alternative energy will boost economy - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

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“I believe that over the next five the development ofthe green-energy economy can drive this nation’s comeback,” the Democratic governor said at the generakl session of PV which is being held at the Pennsylvania Convention Centef in Philadelphia through Wednesday. The conference is the first by the to focusw solely on photovoltaicsolar energy, which comes from photovoltaifc panels that convert sunlight into electricity. It’s being held in conjunction withthe IEEE’s 34th Photovoltaic Specialists Conference at the Philadelphiaz Marriott Downtown, which is adjacent to the convention from Sunday through Friday.
(IEEE used to stanx for , but the nonprofit now just refersa to itself by its acronym because it has so many memberas from otherengineering fields.) About 3,000 peopl are attending the conferences, the SEIA and IEEE said. Part of Rendell’sd message was similar to the message deliverefd by SEIA President and CEO Rhone Resch lated inthe session: When they go home, the peoplde at the conference shouls promote solar energy’s virtues to everyone from their neighbors to theid municipal, state and federal elected officials. “You have to roll up your sleeves and be Rendell said.
Both Rendell and Rescnh praised President Obama for his efforts on behalft of renewableenergy — “President Obama is becominv the solar president,” Resch said — but they said they’s like the federal government to do more. Rendell said federal legislators shoulds dotwo things: Make renewable-energy tax credits rather than reauthorizing them every few years; and createw a federal alternative portfolio standard that mandatesa that a specified portion of energyy sold in the country be created from alternativs energy sources. Twenty eight including Pennsylvania andNew Jersey, and the Districtf of Columbia have alternative portfolio standards.
Rendell said he’d like the federal standard to have minimum figurees that states could exceed ontheir own. “If we do thosew things … I think there’s no reason that Americaa can’t be the dominant nation in solar energy for the he said. Rendel said alternative energty will drivethe U.S. economh for the next 25 yearsw just asthe information-technology and life sciencezs industries have driven it for the last 25. Under his leadership, Pennsylvania has movedr to capitalize on that In 2004, it established an alternative portfolioo standard that requires 18 perceny of energy sold in Pennsylvanisa to come from alternative sources of energy by 2020.
Last Pennsylvania created a $650 million renewablre energy fund. Of that money, $180 million is to go to solard energy, consisting of $100 millioh for loans, grants and rebates to covert up to 35 percent of the costs incurref by homeand small-business owners who install solar energy systems, and $80 million for grants and loans for solart economic-development projects. More than 300 applicationxs forsolar economic-development projects were receivec by the deadline last Rendell said. Philadelphia also has gotten in onthe renewable-energt act. Mayor Michael Nutter in April by 2015.
The city is one of 25 taking part in the federal Departmentof Energy’s Solare America Cities initiative. As part of it’s developing a plan to generat 2.3 megawatts of solard electricity by 2011and 57.8 megawattds by 2021, which is its share of the stat e of Pennsylvania’s solar installation To help it meet those goals, Nutter said Monday, the city is lookinf to replace the roof at its fleeyt workshop with a roof that produces solar energy and has formulatesd plans for building large-scalse solar arrays at Philadelphiaa Water Department locations.