Indiana House Committee Rosters Released

The Committee rosters for the Indiana House of Representatives were released today. The 2009 House Committee that we expect will hear renewable energy legislation is as follows:

2009-10 House Commerce, Energy, Technology
and Utilities Committee Members

Rep. Win Moses, Chair, HD 81 (D-Fort Wayne)
Rep. Matt Pierce, Vice Chair, HD 61 (D-Bloomington)
Rep. Kreg Battles, HD 64 (D-Vincennes)
Rep. Sandy Blanton, HD 62 (D-Orleans)
Rep. Ryan Dvorak, HD 8 (D-South Bend)
Rep. Scott Reske, HD 37 (D-Pendleton)
Rep. Dan Stevenson, HD 11 (D-Highland)
Rep. Jack Lutz, RMM, HD 35, (R-Anderson)
Rep. Eric Koch, HD 65 (R-Bedford)
Rep. Robert Behning, HD 91 (R-Indianapolis)
Rep. David Frizzell, HD 93 (R-Indianapolis)
Rep. Ed Soliday, HD 4 (R-Valparaiso)

Key:
RMM = Ranking Minority Member
HD = House District
E-mail: h#@in.gov,
Note: in place of the "#" symbol, add the legislator's district number (one or two digits)

If your state legislator serves on this committee, we urge you to contact them and to express your support for renewable energy before the 2009 session of the Indiana General re-convenes on January 7, 2009.

Please check back to our blog for more details on renewable energy issues expected to be addressed by the 2009 Indiana General Assembly including net metering and a Renewable Electricity Standard (RES). We would appreciate your sharing with us any feedback you receive from your state legislators on these issues.

Committee Chairs for 2009 Indiana General Assembly

This week Indiana House Speaker B. Patrick Bauer (D-South Bend) released the list of Chairs and Vice Chairs for the upcoming 2009 session of the Indiana General Assembly. Much to the surprise of veteran State House observers, Rep. Win Moses, Jr. (D-Fort Wayne) was named Chair of the House Commerce, Energy, Technology and Utilities Committee and Rep. Matt Pierce (D-Bloomington) was named Vice Chair. Neither of these state legislators were even members of this committee during the last session. The complete roster of the membership of the House Committees has not been released yet.

A big CONGRATULATIONS to both Rep. Moses and Rep. Pierce. Also a big THANK YOU to House Speaker Bauer for having appointed these two visionary state legislators to lead the energy discussion in the Indiana House during the upcoming session of the Indiana General Assembly.

Earlier this month Senate Pro Tem David Long (R-Fort Wayne) appointed State Senator Jim Merritt, Jr. (R-Indianapolis) to chair the Senate Utilities and Technology Committee. The members of the Senate Utilities and Technology Committee for 2009 will be as follows:

Sen. James Merrit, Chair (District 31)
Sen. Ed Charbonneau (District 5)
Sen. Beverly Gard (District 28)
Sen. Dennis Kruse (District 14)
Sen. Jean Leising (District 42)
Sen. Marlin Stutzman (District 13)
Sen. Carlin Yoder (District 12)
Sen. Jean Breaux (District 34)
Sen. Bob Deig (District 49)
Sen. Sue Errington (District 26)
Sen. Lonnie Randolph (District 2)

We would also like to CONGRATULATE Sen. Merritt on his new chairmanship and to thank Sen. Long for appointing Sen. Merritt to head this important committee in the State Senate.

If your state legislator serves on these committees, we encourage you to talk to them about your interest and support for renewable energy. More information will be forthcoming in the next few weeks.

Solar Energy Poised to Put Americans Back to Work

Solar Energy Industries Association Announces Policy Priorities

for Obama Administration, 111th Congress

WASHINGTON, DC – The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) today (12/03/08) outlined the key policies that President-elect Obama and the Congressional leadership must address to expand the use of solar energy and help put over 1 million Americans back to work by 2011.

SEIA released “Solar Energy: A Blueprint for Job Creation and Economic Security,” which recommends that the new Administration and Congress embrace the following policies and programs to expand the creation of clean energy jobs in the United States:

· Improve solar tax credits
· Increase government procurement of solar power
· Create tax incentives for manufacturing
· Pass a national renewable portfolio standard with solar provisions
· Expand and update transmission infrastructure
· Improve access to federal lands to harness our vast solar resources
· Create a federal clean energy bank
· Create the office of Renewable Energy Development
· Establish national standards for interconnection and net metering
· Increase DOE Solar Appropriations
· Enact climate legislation to reduce carbon emissions, stimulate solar generation

SEIA President Rhone Resch said, “President-elect Obama and the new Congress have expressed their commitment to addressing our current economic crisis. Increasing the use of solar energy will create millions of new jobs and put billions of dollars into the U.S. economy, providing a clean, reliable and domestic source of energy while providing a clean, reliable and domestic source of energy,.

“The growth of solar energy will not happen quickly enough without the right federal policies to stimulate the market and remove fundamental barriers that prevent solar from competing in the electricity marketplace.

“To stimulate this growth, the Solar Energy Industries Association is recommending to the Obama Administration and the 111th Congress a number of immediate and near-term policies to stimulate the growth of solar energy, including: improving the solar investment tax credits to ensure that they can be utilized as Congress originally intended, creating a government procurement program that deploys solar on federal buildings and lands, and establishing a national renewable portfolio standard that requires a specific amount of energy come from solar.

“We look forward to working with the new Administration and the 111th Congress to achieve these important goals for growing our economy, improving our energy independence and reducing global warming.”

SEIA Board Chairman Roger Efird of Suntech America said, “For solar energy to reach its potential as an economic engine and become an important part of our national energy portfolio, we need government leaders to continue to enact the right policies. These policies, especially in the current economic crisis, will allow companies like mine to grow and create green jobs that will reverse the trend of sending American jobs overseas. Instead, the U.S. can become a destination for international companies to find the skilled professionals they need to compete in the global renewable energy economy.”

SEIA’s will deliver the “Solar Energy: A Blueprint for Job Creation and Economic Security” to each member of President-elect Obama’s energy and economic transition teams and Congressional leadership.

SEIA is comprised of over 800 member companies that manufacture, distribute, sell, design, own, install and finance solar power plants and systems.

Background Materials

“Solar Energy: A Blueprint for Job Creation and Economic Security"