The centerpiece of President Obama's energy plan, announced in his State of the Union address, is a clean-energy standard that would require 80 percent of electricity used in the United States to come from clean sources by 2035, up from about 40 percent now. The plan also includes incentives for energy efficiency and support for research and development.
If the plan becomes law, it could provide something that business leaders and utilities have long been asking for: long-term certainty about energy policy. Government subsidies and incentives for clean energy tend to come in fits and starts—many must be renewed every year, making it difficult for companies to plan ahead. William Booher, executive VP of the industry group the Council on Competitiveness, says policy certainty is the "single biggest thing" that could help CEOs decide to invest in this technology. A mandate for clean energy by 2035 would be particularly useful to utilities, which are facing the prospect of replacing a generation of aging power plants and need to know what to replace them with.
To read the full, original article click on this link: How the President's Energy Plans Could Affect the Economy - Technology Review
Author: Kevin Bullis
