Obama officials, WGA announce clean energy initiatives

"Obama officials, WGA announce clean energy initiativesSOURCE: Department of EnergySenior Obama administration officials have announced a number of steps that
will help the West tap its clean energy potential and create green jobs.
The efforts were announced during the annual meeting of the Western
Governors' Association (WGA) in Park City, Utah.The announcements include initiatives to advance the development of a
smarter electric grid and more reliable transmission system, protect
critical wildlife corridors and habitats, promote the development of
renewable energy sources and lay the groundwork to integrate these energy
sources onto the national electricity grid.""These steps send an unmistakable message: The Obama administration will be
a strong partner with the West on clean energy,"" says Energy Secretary
Steven Chu. ""We will create jobs, promote our energy independence and cut
our carbon emissions by unlocking the enormous potential for renewable
energy in the western United States.""The Department of Energy (DOE) announced $80 million in new funding under
the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) to support long-term,
coordinated interconnection transmission planning across the country.In addition, $50 million in ARRA funding will support state public utility
commissions in regulating and overseeing new electricity projects, which
can include smart-grid developments, renewable energy and energy efficiency
programs, carbon capture and storage projects.Administration officials also agreed to partner with the WGA to enhance
state wildlife data systems that will help minimize the impact to wildlife
corridors and key habitats when developing renewable energy projects.The DOE and the WGA released a joint report by the Western Renewable Energy
Zones initiative that takes first steps toward identifying areas in the
Western transmission network that have the potential for large-scale
development of renewable resources with low environmental impacts.Participants in the project included renewable energy developers, tribal
interests, utility planners, environmental groups and government
policy-makers. Together, they developed new modeling tools and data to
facilitate interstate collaboration in permitting new multi-state
transmission lines.For more information, visit westgov.org.For the very latest renewables jobs in wind power please click here"