Renewable energy sources look like a bargain: A letter to the editor

June 27- This spill is not just about Louisiana and the environmental, cultural and economic harm we will endure as a result of the ongoing BP Deepwater Horizon wellhead disaster. This spill is about how our nation is to move forward when it comes to securing the energy that will power us in the next decades.

There is something we can do. We can commit, loudly without apology, to a renewable energy future for Louisiana and the nation.

When the true costs of our use of oil and gas to fuel our cars, heat our homes and generate our electricity are calculated, can anyone still hold on to the tired argument that alternative energy is "too costly"?

For 25 years, we at the Alliance for Affordable Energy have advocated for community-based, environmentally responsible energy policies for Louisiana and the nation. And we have done so with a "Solutions exist!" approach.

Even now, the Louisiana Public Service Commission, at the behest of the Alliance, is considering just such a solution, a first important and positive step toward a brighter energy future for Louisiana -- the adoption of a mandatory Renewable Portfolio Standard, or RPS.

This portfolio standard would require electric utilities to generate or purchase an escalating percentage of their capacity from renewable resources and efficiency. The market dictates which renewable resources utilities choose, allowing old-fashioned competition to determine the most cost-effective technologies.

A mandatory RPS for Louisiana would be a significant first step toward curbing our addiction to fossil fuels. And, unless we are blind to the lessons of BP, now is the time to act.

Sallie E. Davis
Board President
Alliance for Affordable Energy
New Orleans

(from The Times-Picayune)