A gathering of industry leaders, politicians and other stakeholders gathered Friday on Capitol Hill to rally support for a move to a renewable
energy-based economy.
The tone was largely optimistic and painted a picture of the U.S. at a crossroads where, if the right path is chosen, numerous challenges can be addressed at once – including energy security, unemployment and climate change. But speakers warned that a failure to act would put the US at a global disadvantage.
“We've got a Kennedy-esque moment to attract the boldest and brightest to the
renewable energy sector,” said Cathy Zoi, Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy, as she mentioned workers in industries like steel and manufacturing who, she says, would be eager to transition to green energy sectors.
Saying unemployment is even worse than current numbers, United Steelworkers president Leo Gerard said, “this is either a crisis or an opportunity."
“If we electrify our railways...and say all that [goes into the project] is going to be made in America, all our workers go back to work,” he said. “The next industrial revolution is going to be the clean energy revolution.”
The American Council on Renewable Energy Conference was titled “Phase II”, as in the second phase of renewable energy development and deployment in the U.S. The first phase, according to ACORE, was from 1975 to 2000, when wind,
solar, hydro,
geothermal, ocean energy, biomass and biofuel technology was developed with the help of federal funding.
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