US president Barack Obama singled out the clean energy sector in his final state of the union address, pressing Americans to “accelerate the transition away from old, dirtier energy sources”.
“Rather than subsidize the past we should invest in the future — especially in communities that rely on fossil fuels,” said Obama (pictured).
The president called on all Americans, even climate change naysayers, to back renewable energy, highlighting its potential for job creation and economic expansion.
“Even if the planet wasn’t at stake, even if 2014 wasn’t the warmest year on record – until 2015 turned out to be even hotter – why would we want to pass up the chance for American businesses to produce and sell the energy of the future?” said the president.
New fossil fuel rules are coming as the Obama administration will “push to change the way we manage our oil and coal resources, so that they better reflect the costs they impose on taxpayers and our planet”.
The White House is expected to unveil proposed regulation to limit greenhouse gas emissions from oil and gas operations on federal land.
In advance of the speech, the American Wind Energy Association said the wind sector added more capacity than any other energy source in 2015 with 47% of all new electric generating capacity, followed by gas at 35% and solar at 14%.
Total capacity has quadrupled since 2008 to more than 70GW, costs have fallen 66% in six years, the sector employs 73,000 workers and stably-priced wind energy is helping consumers save money.
AWEA chief executive Tom Kiernan said: “Wind energy’s continuing growth is something that should make all Americans proud.”
Image: White House
Obama: ‘Back renewable energy’
President uses state of union speech to highlight sector's potential
By EBS