Western Governor’s Association Clean Energy Initiative (Back to Air Quality and Energy Program Index)
In the early 1990s, the Trust participated in a process to help reduce regional haze that was impacting the national parks and wilderness areas located on the Colorado Plateau. Named the Grand Canyon Visibility Transport Commission, it looked at all sources of pollution and developed a series of recommendations for reducing haze. One of the recommendations was that: The goal of the states in the Transport Region should be to achieve annual additions [of renewable energy] in order that renewables will comprise 10 percent of the regional power needs by 2005 and 20 percent by 2015.
The Commission also recommended that a regional organization be created to work on regional haze issues, and soon after the Commission report was issued, the Western Regional Air Partnership (WRAP) became a reality. The WRAP created the Air Pollution Prevention Forum (AP2) to examine barriers to use of renewable energy and energy efficient technologies, identify actions to overcome such barriers, and recommend potential renewable energy and energy efficiency programs and policies that could result in a reduction of air pollution emissions from energy production and energy end-use sectors in the Grand Canyon Visibility Transport Region.
Carrying the notion forward that the West could benefit both environmentally and economically from the develop of clean energy sources, the Western Governor’s Association (WGA) adopted the “Clean and Diversified Energy Initiative for the West” at its June 2004 meeting in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The goal of the Initiative is to generate 30,000 MW of electricity from clean energy sources by 2015 and to increase the efficiency of the way we use electricity by 20 percent by 2020. The Initiative sums up the effort by saying: To ensure that newer, clean energy sources play an important role in meeting this goal, this resolution is specifically concerned with identifying ways to increase the contribution of renewable energy, energy efficiency, and clean energy technologies within the context of the overall energy needs of the West.
With support from the Hewlett and Energy Foundations, the Trust worked with other environmental organizations and renewable energy advocates garnering the support of Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano, who strongly supported the initiative. WGA is in the process of establishing a group to reach the goal.
Non-GCT Links
Grand Canyon Visibility Transport Commission Recommendations
WRAP Pollution Prevention Forum Report
Clean and Diversified Energy Initiative for the West
Western Governor’s Association
Western Regional Air Partnership
Hewlett Foundation
Energy Foundation
(Back to Air Quality and Energy Program Index)
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