I was thrilled to read an Associated Press story this morning in the Evansville Courier & Press regarding the revival of a bill in Indiana to mandate that utilities derive a specific percentage of their energy mix from renewable sources. Rep. Don Lehe of Indiana and U.S Senator Richard Lugar are backing this bill and should be commended for it. The bill would require Indiana utilities to obtain at least 10% of their power from wind, solar, etc. by 2017. The utilities and our governor, Mitch Daniels, of course, vehemently oppose the bill. Yet, when I think about this, I am left wondering, WHY? First of all, the bill allows 11 long years to reach the 10% mark. The bill would be a boom for the economy by creating new jobs for wind turbines, solar technology, etc. The state is already pushing hard for ethanol and biodiesel, which is viewed as renewable energy. Coal, while plentiful, is highly polluting (unless super-expensive and experimental IGCC technology is used) and will eventually run out. With newer environmental regulations coming into place in Indiana, like the CAIR rule (which puts stronger limits on emissions from power plants), utilities focusing primarily on coal may have to fork over millions just to keep their aging coal plants' emissions down. Once e.g. a wind turbine is in place, the energy is free and does not require dangerous mining or dirty waste products. Further, given the 10% proposed requirement, 90% of the utilties' product mix could still come from dirty fossil fuels.

So, what is the real problem? Do utilities simply have a knee-jerk reaction to fight anything that requires or mandates them to do something, regardless of what it is? Is it that utilities are concerned that they may not have a monopoly on power if other players come in and build wind turbines or solar panels? is it simply a resistance to change and new ideas since coal in Indiana has been the way for generations and the infrastructure to mine it and burn it is already in place? No matter what the reason, I still can't see how the utilities and the governor are right in this case. Take wind power, for example. The fact is that wind turbines bring money to local farmers, who can lease one wind turbine on a farm for $4,000.00 to $9,000.00 per year; wind turbines do not cause global warming; wind turbines give energy such that new coal plants may not be needed; and government commitment to wind power may be needed to convince investors, entrepreneurs, etc. to fully back it. I really see this bill as exactly what we need in this state and many others.