Governors Wind Energy Coalition calls for renewable electricity standard

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A national renewable electricity standard is the best way to stimulate a wind energy industry in the United States, according to a new report out from a group of U.S. governors looking to promote the sector.

The Governors Wind Energy Coalition — a group with 29 governor members including Gov. Ted Kulongoski — calls for a national renewable electricity standard requiring utilities to provide a minimum 10 percent of their electricity from renewable sources such as wind, solar and biopower, by 2012.

Other priorities established by the coalition include:

• A new interstate electricity transmission system — or smart grid — that will support the movement of wind-energy resources from less-populated rural areas to urban areas where demand is high.

• Support for coastal, deep water and offshore wind energy research and development, areas that the coalition see as key to reaching U.S. goals for 20 percent wind power by 2030.

• Streamlining of the permit process for all wind development projects.

• Expansion of public-private wind technology advancement efforts such as those recommended by the Wind Energy Research and Development Act of 2009.

• Extension of the grant program started under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and a long-term renewable energy production tax credit.

The coalition, which does not include the governor of Texas, the U.S. state with by far the largest installed capacity of wind generation at 7,118 megawatts, is billed as the first time a bipartisan group of governors have come together on the topic of wind energy.

According to the American Wind Energy Association, Oregon ranks seventh in the nation for its installed wind-energy capacity with 1,067 MW, enough to power approximately 267,000 homes.

Download the full Governors Wind Energy Coalition report here.