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

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“I believe that over the next five the development ofthe green-energy econom can drive this nation’s comeback,” the Democrativc governor said at the general session of PV which is being held at the Pennsylvania Conventio n Center in Philadelphia through Wednesday. The conference is the firsrt by the to focus solely on photovoltaicsolart energy, which comes from photovoltaic panelsw that convert sunlight into It’s being held in conjunction with the IEEE’s 34th Photovoltaic Specialists Conference at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown, which is adjaceng to the convention center, from Sunday throughy Friday.
(IEEE used to stanr for , but the nonprofit now just referzs to itself by its acronym because it has so many memberss from otherengineering fields.) About 3,00 0 people are attending the conferences, the SEIA and IEEE Part of Rendell’s message was similar to the messager delivered by SEIA President and CEO Rhone Reschu later in the session: When they go home, the peopl at the conference should promote solar energy’ss virtues to everyone from their neighbors to thei r municipal, state and federal elected officials. “Youj have to roll up your sleeveas andbe advocates,” Rendel l said.
Both Rendell and Reschu praised President Obama for his efforts on behalf of renewabl eenergy — “President Obama is becominfg the solar president,” Resch said but they said they’d like the federal governmenr to do more. Rendell said federal legislators shoulc dotwo things: Make renewable-energy tax credits rather than reauthorizing them every few and create a federapl alternative portfolio standard that mandates that a specifierd portion of energy sold in the countryu be created from alternative energ sources. Twenty eight states, including Pennsylvaniz and New Jersey, and the District of Columbiaa have alternativeportfolio standards.
Rendell said he’d like the federapl standard to have minimum figures that states coule exceed ontheir own. “Ic we do those things … I think there’sz no reason that America can’t be the dominantr nation in solar energy for the he said. Rendel said alternative energgy will drivethe U.S. economy for the next 25 years just asthe information-technology and life sciencesx industries have driven it for the last 25. Under his leadership, Pennsylvania has moved to capitalizwe onthat shift. In 2004, it establishec an alternative portfolio standard that requires 18 percent of energy sold in Pennsylvania to come from alternative sources of energyby 2020.
Last Pennsylvania created a $650 millionn renewable energy fund. Of that money, $180 millionj is to go to solar energy, consisting of $100 millionm for loans, grants and rebates to cover up to 35 percent of the costd incurred by homeand small-business owners who install solar energy systems, and $80 million for grantws and loans for solar economic-development More than 300 applicationsz for solar economic-development projects were received by the deadline last week, Rendell said. Philadelphia also has gottenj in onthe renewable-energy act. Mayor Michae l Nutter in Aprilby 2015. The city is one of 25 takingg part in the federal Departmentof Energy’d Solar America Cities initiative.
As part of that, it’sz developing a plan to generate 2.3 megawattsw of solar electricity by 2011and 57.8 megawatts by which is its share of the state of Pennsylvania’es solar installation goal. To help it meet those goals, Nutter said the city is looking to replace the roof at its fleey workshop with a roof that producex solar energy and has formulaterd plans forbuilding large-scald solar arrays at Philadelphia Water Department