Sec. Vilsack supports 25x’25 summit on renewable energy
By Melissa Coon
© Copyright Agri-Pulse Communications, Inc.
Washington, June 30 – Making a passionate case for developing more renewable energy as a way to help repopulate Rural America, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today spoke at the sixth national 25x’25 Renewable Energy Summit in Arlington, Virginia. Made up of a diverse alliance of agricultural, forestry, environmental, conservation and other organizations and businesses, 25x’25 is working to secure 25 percent of the nation’s energy needs from renewable sources by the year 2025.
“Faced with the need for us to preserve the American value system and for us to reverse and revitalize the economic decline in rural America, you have to ask yourself what we can do differently that we haven’t already done,” said Vilsack.
Vilsack was one of the first to endorse the 25x’25 goal when he served as governor of Iowa. Now, nearly 1,000 partners, 30 governors, 14 state legislators and dozens of members of the U.S. Congress endorse the concept and are working to advance all forms of renewable energy.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Energy are working to create alternative feedstock that will help produce energy and fuel. Additionally, Vilsack said they are working with Congress to implement legislation that will move the country in the right direction and further the advancement of renewable energy.
Vilsack noted that Americans are on the right track, yet there is still a great deal of work to be done. He stressed the importance of promoting renewable energy as a national industry.
“This cannot simply be focused and concentrated in one region of the country, as great as it may be for the region that I come from,” he said. “In order to have the political support that ensures proper signals to the market, and the consistency of tax policy and regulatory policy, you need to have allies in all parts of the country.”
For coverage of a 25x'25 renewable energy report released Wednesday, go to: www.agri-pulse.com/20100630_25x25_Analysis.asp
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