Alaska Conservation Voters

Conservation Watch

Alaska Conservation Voters
works to protect Alaska's environment through public education and advocacy, and supports pro-conservation candidates for public office.

Conservation Watch
(CW) is a weekly publication of ACV highlighting conservation issues in the AK Legislature.

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click here.

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Contributing Editors

Sue Ely
Legislative & Communications Manager
sue@akvoice.org
(907) 463-3366

David Rogers
ACV Lobbyist

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Web Resources

ACV Legislation Page
Bill position papers, back issues of Conservation Watch, and legislative updates

Legislative BASIS
Current bill text, history & committee schedules

Alaska Legislature
Find Your Legislators, party links, committee lists

State of Alaska
Links to state agencies and the Governor

 ACV Homepage

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Vote for Renewable Energy in Governor Palin's Survey Contact Senator Stevens & Senator Murkowski

How would you spend $1.6 Billion?

Governor Palin is asking all Alaskans how to invest the potential $1.6 billion in surplus revenue from the newly passed ACES legislation. Please take 2 minutes to take this online survey to rank your priorities for the potential budget surplus. Make sure Governor Palin knows that funding the Renewable Energy Fund is a top priority for Alaskans.

Energy for Alaska's Future.

Last winter, the AK House of Representatives passed HB152 to create a fund that could be used to encourage alternative and renewable energy, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and potentially lowering the cost of energy for Alaskans.

The survey has a space for additional comments. Consider including some or all of the following suggestions.

Governor Palin,

Please consider using the budget surplus for:

• Funding a Climate Change Coordinator
• Meeting needs for adapting to mitigating the impacts of climate change
• Improvements and repairs to existing roads and infrastructure, particularly as affected by climate change. I support the 'Fix it First' strategy of addressing the current transportation needs before investing in new roads and bridges
• Public transportation improvements including bus, ferry and rail

Thank you very much,

Tell Stevens & Murkowski that Alaskans win with RES

The U.S. Congress is in the process of finalizing a national energy bill. Senator Stevens and Senator Murkowski need to hear from Alaskans asking that the final bill include a 15% Renewable Electricity Standard (RES). Including a 15% RES in the national energy bill would require large (1,000,000 megawatt-hour of retail sales or more), investor-owned utilities to generate 15% of their power from wind, solar, biomass, landfill gas, ocean, tidal, incremental hydropower and geothermal by 2020 – or purchase renewable energy credits to achieve this standard.

How does including the 15% RES help Alaskans?

• No Alaska utilities would be required to meet the RES standard. Rural electric cooperatives and city-owned utilities are specifically exempted in the House bill.
• Alaska's renewable energy developers could sell renewable energy credits (RECs) to lower-48 utilities that are required to comply with the 15% standard. This will promote renewable energy development in Alaska by creating additional financial incentive.
• The RES will reduce greenhouse gases. The Union of Concerned Scientists analyzed the benefits of a 15-percent-by-2020 national standard and found it would generate more than a 450 percent increase in the nation's clean energy use over 2005 levels. Furthermore, it would reduce global warming pollution by 126 million metric tons per year by 2020, equal to removing as many as 21 million of today's cars and trucks off the road.
• This is a win-win opportunity for Alaska, Alaskan utilities, and for our renewable energy future.

Contact Senator Stevens and Senator Murkowski and ask them to:

1. Support the Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) in the Energy Bill in Congress this week.  Extend the Production Tax Credit for renewable energy projects from 2008 to 2012. This extension is crucial to investments in the renewable energy sector.
2. Authorize new funds for: marine renewable energy research; geothermal research, development and demonstration, including programs to tap geothermal energy from oil and gas fields; potential grants to states for surveying coastal regions appropriate for renewable energy development; workforce training in renewable energy; and 100% loan guarantees for certain renewable energy projects.