Renewable power could help energize economy

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Renewable power could help energize economy 
  Feb 3, 2009 Las Cruces Sun-News
Diana M. Alba Feb. 3, 2009 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- LAS CRUCES -- During a visit to Las Cruces on Monday, U.S. Rep. Harry Teague, D-N.M., said southern New Mexicans stand to benefit from renewable energy-related funding that likely will come from a federal economic stimulus bill under consideration by Congress. Teague said the benefits to homeowners will come in the form of tax credits. "There's money in the stimulus bill to retrofit homes with solar, renewable energy," he said. "There's money in there for buying more energy-efficient heat pumps, to give investment credits for that." In addition, Teague said, there's a pool of $8 billion in loan money to help municipalities construct "green" buildings. Other loan money, he said, would become available for wind, solar, biodiesel and other renewable energy projects. Teague met briefly with renewable energy experts and business owners at New Mexico State University and toured an engineering laboratory that's researching solar panel technology. Andrew Rosenthal, senior program manager for the Southwest Technology Development Institute at NMSU, told Teague an extension of renewable energy tax credits in last year's federal bailout bill "turned on investment in solar energy in a really big way." "We're going to see tremendous amounts of venture capital --we're already seeing it pouring into new technologies, new jobs, new capacity for existing companies," he said. But to accommodate the growing interest, Rosenthal said, trained workers must be in place to install the technology, something lacking now. "There are going to be a lot of peple trying to buy solar and other renewable technologies," he said. "Workforce development, if done rapidly and in a timely fashion, is really going to be the linchpin for getting renewable energy technology to where it needs to be." Dona Ana Community College is interested in creating new technical programs to train energy technicians, but it will have to come up with the funding, said H. Vince Thomas, who spoke on behalf of the college. "It's very expensive to start a program," he said. "It's expensive to set up equipment for training." Teague toured a lab overseen by Satish J. Ranade, an NMSU professor who holds an endowed chair for utility management. The lab is studying micro-grids, small electrical-generating systems, such as solar panels, that tie into larger grids overseen by power companies. For solar technology to become more widely accessible, he said changes will have to occur. "We see certainly the need for federal and state help in these projects, but what we are looking for systemically is for the customer to make the investment, for the electric utility to make the investment, so that this will grow," Ranade said. Ranade said the economic stimulus legislation will be helpful if it benefits students, who'll become leaders in the industry in the future. "I see these students here as a very important ingredient in the success of what we call the energy economy," he said. "The electric utility industry and other industries will make these investments (in renewable energy) if there are people in there, who say, "how about this option?'" J.B. Stearns, a home builder and president of the Las Cruces Home Builders Association, said he's seen a growing interest locally in renewable energy and green building. "The homes I'm building right now, I've gotten all three of them because of green building techniques," he said. Las Cruces City Councilor Nathan Small is part of a panel of renewable energy experts in the state that's looking at the economic stimulus legislation. He said the group is trying to ensure New Mexico gets its share of funding and that money goes toward green projects and jobs. Teague said the meeting was helpful. "It made me aware of the work so many different people are doing from different angles to work on the nation's energy policy," he said. Teague plans to return today to Washington, D.C. 

Dennis Spisak

Mahoning Valley Greens

Ohio Green Party

www.ohiogreens.org

www.votespisak.org/thinkgreen