When it comes to energy policy in the U.S., the states are increasingly calling the shots — and they know it. This week, the Governors Association officially launched a task force to advance clean energy development at the state level, and it’s being given $610,000 from the DOE to get started.
Separately, a federal judge on Wednesday said that states are allowed to regulate the amount of greenhouse gas emissions emitted from vehicles.
Here’s a brief look at some other policy news from the states. What’s happening in your neck of the woods?
New Jersey has adopted a new system to promote solar energy that aims have at least 2 percent of the electricity consumed in the state come from solar panels by 2020. The state will switch from an up-front rebate system to a commodity-style market based on Solar Renewable Energy Credits, which uses private financing to pay for solar installations. But not everybody is happy, since, as an op-ed in the Star Ledger notes, the program “could cost electric ratepayers an extra $6 billion over the next three decades.”
A bill in California that would launch the nation’s largest solar water heating program advanced to the Governor’s desk this week.
In Maryland, the Board of Public Works approved a policy to increase the state’s use of ethanol- and biodiesel-powered cars and trucks and to triple the number of hybrids in its fleet by 2011 – The Baltimore Sun
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