NEW ENERGY MOONSHOT

Utah will spend stimulus cash on clean-energy push; Solar, wind, geothermal and biomass top the development list
Patty Henetz, March 12, 2009 (Salt Lake Tribune)

"Interior boss Ken Salazar issued his first secretarial order…a "moonshot for energy independence" that propels solar, wind, geothermal and biomass projects ahead of oil and gas development…With Salazar's declaration, the production, development and delivery of large-scale alternative-energy projects vault to the top of Interior's to-do list…

"Through an initiative of Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., [Utah] has mapped its renewable zones and estimated the costs and benefits of development that appear beneficial for Utah. The state expects to funnel about $34 million from the federal stimulus package toward clean-energy projects…[Bills in the legislature]…would provide financial incentives for alternative-energy-equipment manufacturers and developers…[and] set up a mechanism to fund transmission lines to connect renewable-energy projects already producing electricity to the main grid…"

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"Salazar said that even if the Southwest's renewable zones excluded sensitive lands, enough area would remain to produce 88 percent of the West's energy needs with solar alone…Utah Clean Energy…estimated that energy savings and renewables could meet all of the state's projected energy-demand growth through 2020.

"Interior's first task will be to map…the nation's renewable-energy zones in a way that doesn't harm the environment…Another goal: Put people to work by clearing the backlog of alternative-energy-permit requests…Hundreds of applications for solar- and wind-energy permits piled up under the previous policy of speeding oil and gas development, putting the new energy economy's engineering and production employment on hold…"

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"…[DOI’s] Bureau of Land Management [estimates] Western wind-project developers could build on 20.6 million acres. More than 25 million acres could go to solar development and geothermal potential covers more than 40 million acres. Wind- and wave-energy projects are possible on both coasts and in the Gulf of Mexico…

"[T]he broad environmental impact studies the Bush administration completed for geothermal and wind development may undergo revisions to reflect the new renewable-energy focus…Interior has set up an energy and climate-change task force to measure renewable potential on public lands across the nation…"