Indiana Businesses for a Clean Energy Economy Calls on Senators Lugar and Bayh to

Enact Comprehensive Energy and Climate Legislation

[Indianapolis, Indiana] – Twenty-six business leaders from companies across Indiana signed a letter today urging Senators Richard Lugar and Evan Bayh to work across state and party lines to pass comprehensive energy and climate legislation. 

The letter, signed by members of Indiana Businesses for a Clean Energy Economy, encourages Senators Lugar and Bayh to meet and listen to local business leaders during the State Work Period and to give “thoughtful consideration” to the pragmatic, bipartisan proposal put together by Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC), John Kerry (D-MA) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) on comprehensive energy and climate legislation.

“Senate action is urgently needed to rebuild our economy and create 45,000 new clean energy jobs throughout our state,” said Patricia Coxon, president and co-owner of SunWind Power Systems in Floyds Knobs, which provides services and products for solar, wind and other renewable technologies.

The letter goes on to say, “Today, the United States is falling behind in the global race to lead the new clean energy economy. In order for American business to unleash a new industrial revolution in energy, we need cooperative and coordinated action in the public policy and business arenas. We are ready to compete in the global marketplace, and we urge you to act so that we can win the race for a new clean energy economy.  We stand ready to work with you to build this vital and growing economic sector.”

“Energy is the largest industry, by revenue, in the world.  It represents the next breakout technology sector,” said Rose Lige, chief financial officer for Gary’s Wynter Power Services, LLC, a full-service energy management company.  “Clean energy technology will do for energy what IT has done for information and communications – grow jobs and spur innovation.”

Attached is the letter with logos from 26 companies showing their support for passage of comprehensive energy and climate legislation.

Indiana Businesses for a Clean Energy Economy agree that energy security and climate policies aimed at putting our country on a more secure economic path are vital to our continued prosperity.  Capping carbon emissions will hasten the growth of our clean tech industries, spur innovation, drive investment, foster job creation and encourage economic growth.  To learn more about IBCEE, please go to www.indianacleaneconomy.biz.

LETTER

April 7, 2010

Dear Senators Lugar and Bayh,

We are business leaders from companies of all sizes and many sectors throughout Indiana urging you to work with your colleagues and in particular with Senators Graham (R-SC), Kerry (D-MA), and Lieberman (I-CT) to craft a pragmatic, bipartisan solution to comprehensively address our energy and climate challenges.   We need to address how America can create new energy jobs, cut carbon emissions and increase our energy independence.  We need to address the importance of new and existing energy resources, and as businesses need certainty, we need to address it this year.

While at home during your State Work Period, we hope you will meet and listen to businesses calling for you to support this approach.  Upon your return to Washington, DC, we ask that you give thoughtful consideration to their proposal on comprehensive energy and climate legislation.
Strong energy and climate legislation will create millions of new American jobs by providing market certainty and enabling a transition to a new energy economy. By sending the right market signals, Congress can unlock investments in new energy innovations and drive business growth allowing us to expand operations and create new jobs right here in Indiana.
Today, the United States is falling behind in the global race to lead the new clean energy economy. In order for American business to unleash a new industrial revolution in energy, we need cooperative and coordinated action in the public policy and business arenas. We are ready to compete in the global marketplace, and we urge you to act so that we can win the race for a new clean energy economy.  We stand ready to work with you to build this vital and growing economic sector.

Now is the time to act.  Together, we can lead.

Sincerely,

By Steve Tolen and Mac Williams

Standing tall on the world stage, America closed out 2009 by pushing for a meaningful climate agreement in Copenhagen. The U.S. delegation supported targets and timetables for greenhouse gas reduction, sending crucial signals to both domestic and global markets that help provide the necessary incentives to move the U.S. away from traditional fossil fuels.

This was an important step toward staving off the worst effects of climate change and growing millions of clean-energy jobs in America. Next up on the agenda is federal legislation that is equally important.

In 2009, the U.S. House passed a bill that would cut greenhouse gas emissions and provide a boost to companies like ours that are involved in the development, production, system integration, marketing and deployment of clean energy. Then, the Obama administration, through proposed Environmental Protection Agency rules, made clear the economic and environmental urgency of transitioning to a clean-energy future.

While we applaud the administration for moving forward, we believe federal legislation will provide much-needed certainty for potential clean-energy investors, as well as a more comprehensive and flexible approach than the proposed EPA regulations.

It’s now up to the Senate to examine these issues and put together a bill that will protect the health of our children and grandchildren, as well as the livelihoods of Hoosier farmers, and create new jobs when our state is in dire need of them.

Indiana is well-positioned to benefit from such federal legislation. A study recently conducted by the University of Illinois, Yale University and the University of California found that national energy and climate policies will create jobs, consumer savings and economic growth for our state.

In a purely competitive sense, China is leading the world in the race to provide clean-energy sources. It’s spending $12.6 million every hour on such investments. Only six of the top 30 wind, solar and advanced-battery technologies are American.

We should not underestimate the power of American ingenuity and innovation. Most grim cost projections by industry over the centuries — the cost of seat belts, airbags, catalytic converters and power plant air scrubbers, for example — were wildly overestimated. When finally mandated, industry met regulations for far less cost, and found that innovation made them more profitable.

When it comes to climate change and energy legislation, the most expensive thing we can do is nothing. The second-most expensive thing we can do is delay taking action. Indiana agriculture, tourism and other vital interests are at stake. What industry needs now is certainty, and the sooner industry can plan for the future, the sooner it can get on with the business of innovation.

As Indiana business leaders we have a vested interest in the economic health of our state. As entrepreneurs, we have our fingers on the pulse of the state’s economic future. The Obama administration is rightfully pushing for action on global warming, and we are hopeful that the U.S. Senate — including Indiana Sens. Richard Lugar and Evan Bayh — will join the president in supporting federal legislation that will clean up our environment and grow jobs at the same time.

Tolen and Williams represent Indiana Businesses for a Clean Energy Economy.

http://www.indystar.com/article/20100103/OPINION03/1030329/1032/OPINION03/Delaying-action-would-be-expensive

By David Mann and Eric Cotton

When asked once why he was so good, legendary hockey player Wayne Gretzky replied, “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.”

In the future, our world will be powered by clean sources of energy. The question is, will we urgently strive to become a leader in the largest industrial transformation of this century, or will we continue to fall behind and accept the economic consequences of delay? In Indiana and the rest of the United States, we must forge ahead or be permanently left behind. We must skate to where the puck is going to be.

A recent analysis from the University of California, University of Illinois and Yale University concludes that strong federal climate and energy policy would create up to 45,000 jobs in Indiana over the next 10 years and grow the state economy by up to $2.5 billion. These economic gains, they assert, are beyond any growth that Indiana would experience in the absence of such strong policy. The transition to new, job-creating energy industries powers much of this growth.

In fact, the report found that the stronger the legislation, the greater the economic reward here in Indiana.

Increasing public awareness and concern for the environment and desire for a clean, affordable solution to rising energy costs have driven our solar business to steady increases over the past two years, and we anticipate that these increases will continue. We are poised to add to our workforce of skilled solar installers soon. Energy legislation that provides incentives for clean-energy resources and caps carbon emissions will drive the innovation that is the key to making businesses like ours successful.

Over the last few years fossil fuel prices have fluctuated dramatically. In 2008, oil prices spiked to $140 a barrel, resulting in $4-a-gallon gasoline prices. Also in 2008, coal prices spiked, with the benchmark Central Appalachian coal hitting $175 per short ton. The economic downturn has caused those prices to come down, but they remain high and will likely climb again once the economy recovers.

Energy legislation that motivates the development of availability of clean-energy resources, as well as caps carbon emissions, will drive the demand that will support our continued growth and enable us to create hundreds of new jobs over the next three years.

Often overlooked, energy efficiency helps consumers reduce their energy use while maintaining their lifestyle and saving money. The money not wasted on energy essentially puts billions of dollars back into the largest driver of our economy – consumer spending. Put differently, money saved by not consuming energy is money that can be spent on goods and services in Indiana.

Beyond the economic risks of remaining dependent on fossil fuels, we must also consider the national security implications. Recently, a blue-ribbon panel of three- and four-star retired U.S. admirals and generals issued a report that found America’s current energy posture constitutes a serious and urgent threat to national security – militarily, diplomatically and economically. They insist that the converging risks of all fossil fuels – not just foreign oil – require moving to clean-energy sources. Beyond the concern that we ship billions of dollars to nations hostile to our interest, they warn, increasing demand for – and dwindling supplies of – fossil fuels will lead to greater instability around the world, including many of the places worst hit by climate change.

Strong energy and climate legislation will create jobs, break the cycle of oil dependence and repower America with clean, home-grown energy. We’re looking to our senators, Richard Lugar and Evan Bayh, for their strong support for a clean-energy economy. We urge them to work with Senate leaders to strengthen this critical legislation and put it on the president’s desk as soon as possible. Let’s get America running on clean energy.

David Mann, president of Mann Plumbing Solar Energy, and Eric Cotton, president of ECI Wind and Solar, are members of Indiana Businesses for a Clean Energy Economy. They wrote this for Indiana newspapers.

http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20091127/EDIT05/311279996/1021/EDIT

(or download story here)

Farmers Union supports a national, mandatory carbon emission cap-and-trade system to reduce nonfarm greenhouse gas emissions. As an energy-intensive industry, we know that doing so will result in increased production costs. However, the flexible agricultural offset program within the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 will allow producers to mitigate some of these increased costs by adopting environmentally friendly practices. This will allow American farmers and ranchers to continue to provide consumers with the most affordable and abundant food supply in the world.

Failing to pass climate change legislation is not an option. Without congressional action, the Environmental Protection Agency is poised to act. This regulatory action would mean the positive provisions within the legislation would be lost.

Jim Benham

President, Indiana Farmers Union

Versailles

http://www.indy.com/posts/indiana-s-farmers-support-energy-action