PRES MAKES NEW ENERGY HAPPY

Clean energy backers enthused; Obama plan wins applause in Mass
Erin Allworth, January 27, 2011 (Boston Globe)

"President Obama’s challenge to the nation’s alternative energy sector during his State of the Union address was clear: 1 million electric vehicles on the road by 2015, 80 percent of the nation’s electricity from renewable sources by 2035, and — perhaps the most ambitious — an end to billions in tax breaks for oil companies…

"It was just the message…[New Energy advocates and business people] needed to hear, and one they hope will spur the government support that local companies need to expand, create jobs, and bring their technologies into widespread use…"

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"Energy and innovation were key elements of Obama’s speech, which focused on rebuilding the US economy. He compared the technological and economic challenges facing the nation’s energy sector to the late 1950s, when the Soviet Union launched the Sputnik satellite. That in turn spurred a massive investment in science, education, and research, culminating in the 1969 US landing on the moon…

"Just how the nation will reach Obama’s ambitious goals — and what that will mean for local clean energy companies — is still in question…"

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"Peter Rothstein, president of the New England Clean Energy Council, said abolishing oil subsidies can only help to boost clean technology…

"Representative Edward J. Markey…a ranking Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, said lawmakers and policy makers need to ensure that renewable energy is able to compete with fossil fuels such as oil and coal, which are still heavily subsidized by the government, and that ‘consumers are getting the cheapest, cleanest energy’…"