Western Governors See Opportunity to Upgrade the Grid

January 26th, 2009 • Filed Under
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CHEYENNE - Some Western governors say the plan for $825 billion in economic stimulus spending should spur development of energy infrastructure in their states.

The Western Governors Association recently sent a letter to then President-elect Obama asking him to focus on renewable energy sources and infrastructure in his energy policy. Based on the energy proposal the President highlighted in his weekly web broadcast this past weekend, they will likely get their wish — at least a major part of it.

Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal says stimulus funds could be used to leverage private funds. He also said the federal funds could be used to provide low-interest loans to infrastructure developers, or give them tax-exempt bonding authority.

In his stimulus request, Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter urged Obama to create a “renewable energy superhighway.” Not all the governors see it that way, of course. Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer says he supports public-private partnerships to build an updated energy grid, but doesn’t believe it should be part of the stimulus package.

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