Leading renewable energy associations announced the formation of the Renewable Energy Business Alliance to amplify and unify their voice in support of policies and programs to expand renewable energy production in the United States.
The national trade associations representing the wind, solar, geothermal, biomass, landfill gas, and waste-to-energy industries together with public power and rural electric co-ops, joined in founding the organization.
“Strong and sustained growth in renewable energy production will lead to major benefits in U.S. energy security, job growth, fuel diversity, domestic supplies of fuel, and environmental enhancement,” said Karl Gawell, executive director of the Geothermal Energy Association. “This new Alliance is focused on developing and advocating the policies and programs that, from a business perspective, will achieve these results.”
As its priority, the Alliance will seek a significant extension of the production tax credit. The organizations announced, “The Alliance supports making the federal Production Tax Credit permanent, applying it to all renewable technologies on an equal basis, and providing comparable incentives for non- profit entities.” According to the Renewable Energy Business Alliance, “these policies would lead to the stability necessary to provide business an effective incentive to invest in new renewable energy facilities.”
Organizations involved in founding the alliance are the American Wind Energy Association, the Geothermal Energy Association, the Solar Energy Industries Association, the USA Biomass Power Producers Alliance, the Integrated Waste Services Association, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, the American Public Power Association, and the Solid Waste Association of North America.