US government to triple renewable energy use after Obama order
Obama administration's Climate Action Plan set to treble its use of renewable energy within seven years
US President Barack Obama has instructed the US federal government to almost treble its use of renewable energy within seven years, as part of the latest phase of the administration's Climate Action Plan.
Obama signed a memorandum instructing US federal agencies to boost their use of renewable energy from the current level of seven per cent to at least 10 per cent by 2015 and 20 per cent in 2020 as part of ambitious plans that could go some towards transforming the US energy industry.
The memorandum gives federal agencies the freedom to decide whether to purchase renewable energy from suppliers or install their own onsite renewable energy technologies.
The White House said the new goals would "reduce pollution in our communities, promote American energy independence, and support homegrown energy produced by American workers".
The announcement builds on the Obama administration's high profile commitment to introduce new emissions standards for power plants through the Environmental Protection Agency and follows a flurry of announcements this week designed to strengthen the government's Climate Action Plan.
Most notably, the US Department of Energy (DOE) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced an expansion of the Better Buildings Challenge earlier this week to extend funding for energy efficiency upgrades to multifamily housing such as apartmentsand also launched the Better Buildings Accelerators to support state- and local government-led efforts to cut energy waste. Meanwhile, the US Department of Agriculture announced it is to provide rural electricity cooperatives with up to US$250m to lend to business and residential customers to help fund energy efficiency upgrades and renewable energy deployments.
