Obama win may bring good times for sustainability

[jpak]

http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2008/11/03/daily73.html

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An Obama presidency has many implications for business. It may signal good times for the sustainability industry — solar power, electric cars and the like — but a new burden on utilities and other industries if the new president makes good on campaign promises to put caps on emissions.

Obama’s energy plan is to put $150 billion into clean technology over a decade — an initiative that would create 5 million jobs.

“In the coming months, both the new administration and new Congress must tackle our nation’s ongoing energy challenges," said Rhone Resch, president of the Solar Energy Industries Association. "We look forward to working with President-elect Obama and a new congressional class to create a sustainable national market for solar through common-sense policies.”

A possible policy change would be a renewable portfolio standard that mandates utilities get 10 percent of electricity from solar, wind or geothermal by 2012 and 25 percent by 2025 — an investment the Solar Energy Industries Association applauds, but many Southern states claim their resources aren’t ample enough to do it. Other possible policies are tax rebates for plug-in hybrids and upping fuel-efficiency standards.

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[NoFederales]

1. Modernizing the grid infrastructure is the priority key to all these techs. nt

NoFederales