Governor Herbert announces energy initiative

Posted by Josh Ewing in Featured Articles, Utah's green economy on Jan 28th, 2010 | 52 responses

In his State of the State address, Governor Herbert announced an ambitious new effort – the Utah Energy Initiative. Many in the clean tech world are excited about the announcement, hoping the effort can be the makings of an Apollo-mission-like plan for Utah.

In an editorial, the Salt Lake Tribune praised the effort but faulted Herbert for failing to mention climate change. But there’s no fault to be found for framing energy, especially renewable and alternative technologies, as an economic issue.Why waste energy on a contentious issue in Utah when we can all agree that Utah can benefit dramatically from investments in clean energy.

As Herbert pointed out, “few other states have the energy resources with which we, in Utah, have been blessed.” Utah can be a leader in the new energy economy. And to do that means being a leader in renewable energy. It also means truly investing in clean alternative technologies, such as carbon capture and storage, to utilize fossil fuels in a responsible manner. Even President Obama mentioned clean coal in his State of the Union speech.

The Governor said he is assembling the “best minds in the state and charging them with creating a 10-year strategic energy plan.” Here are a few reccomendations for people the Governor might consider to be part of the effort.

BYU Proffessor Nathan Furr – a thought leader in renewable energy economics, particularly in the solar industry.
Todd Stevens – Managing partner of Renewable Tech Ventures, a long-time leader in venture capital investing who is now focused in the renewable space
UofU Professor Brian McPherson – an internationally recognized leader in carbon sequestration and how it merges with other potential clean coal technologies.
Tracy Livingston – CEO for Wasatch Wind and perhaps Utah’s most experienced wind developer
Jeff Muhs – Leader of USU’s commercialization efforts in renewable energy, especially biomass from algae.

Of course there are dozens of other highly intelligent, involved leaders in the clean energy industry. But Governor Herbert would do well to give the above some thought as he puts together his team.

Here’s to a successful, cooperative effort to bolster Utah’s energy economy!