A lot to like about renewable energy

From an editorial in the Kenosha News:

Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle and President Barack Obama were talking the same language Wednesday: renewable energy and jobs.

The president was in Washington speaking to a group of governors about his energy policy, which includes spending more money on biofuels such as ethanol.

“It’s good for our national security and reducing our dependence on foreign oil. It’s good for our economy, because it will create jobs.”

Gov. Doyle was in Kenosha, speaking at Gateway Technical College’s Horizon Center.

He said Wisconsin spends $16 billion a year for coal, petroleum and natural gas, money that goes out of the state because Wisconsin doesn’t produce those fuels. If the state used 25 percent of its energy from renewable sources, that would mean $4 billion remains here to boost our economy.

Wisconsin’s wind energy production has been growing for several years. Ethanol also has a lot of promise. So far, most ethanol in Wisconsin is produced from corn, because that was the technology that developed first, but other sources for ethanol continue to develop, including wood products, waste from paper mills and grasses. Wisconsin can produce grass and wood probably a lot easier than many states, and those crops take less energy to produce because the don’t need the cultivation of fertilization corn requires.

Posted in: Climate change,Economic development,Renewable energy