Senate Majority Leader Reid outlines 26-point energy policy, will present at Democratic Convention

In Colorado, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid sent a letter to delegates at the Democratic National convention outlining a 26-point energy policy plan for state and federal government. The plan, which is an outcome of the National Clean Energy Summit held last week in Nevada, will be highlighted by Reid in his address to delegates today.

Among the recommendations: Provide long-term extension of tax incentives for renewable energy production and energy efficiency; Buy, and give significant incentives to consumers and small businesses to buy clean alternative fuel and plug-in hybrid vehicles; Initiate electrification of our entire transportation sector so it use only clean domestic energy soon; Create a Federal clean energy fund to invest in research, development and deployment of efficiency and renewable technologies; Speed the transition from corn based ethanol to sustainable biofuels such as cellulosic ethanol made from wood chips, agriculture waste, and switch grass.  This could include a joint US-Brazilian investment in sugar cane ethanol in the Caribbean, which would create jobs in this developing region; Convert solid waste landfills so that they produce waste heat, biofuels or fertilizer from methane emissions or organic materials; and Convert state vehicle fleets to clean alternative fuels.

Full text of the letter is here.

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