When it comes to creating jobs and innovating in the energy sector, President Trump doesn’t have to try very hard to make America great again.
Because renewable energy is already making it great, says a bipartisan group of governors. They can see it firsthand in their states.
A coalition of eight Republican governors and 12 Democratic governors sent a letter to the White House yesterday, asking Trump to “strengthen America’s energy future” by extending government support for offshore wind, R&D, grid modernization and improved permitting for utility-scale renewables.
They pointed to the hundreds of thousands of jobs created in their states across the country — from Arkansas to Kansas to California — as evidence that renewables are providing a direct economic boost.
“Members of the Coalition have seen the benefits of renewable energy firsthand, and agree that expanding renewable energy production is one of the best ways to meet the country’s growing demand for energy,” read the letter, which was signed by Sam Brownback, the Republican governor of Kansas, and Gina Raimondo, the Democratic governor of Rhode Island.
“For example, U.S. wind facilities pay rural landowners $222 million a year, with more than $156 million going to landowners in areas with below-average incomes. In addition, $100 billion has been invested by companies in low-income counties, where some 70 percent of the nation’s wind farms are located,” wrote the governors.
