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Organization members, including elected officials and farm and business groups, said they hoped to influence Gov. Mitch Daniels' energy policy, due for announcement on Friday.
"This should be a part of it," said Grant Smith, executive director of the Citizens Action Coalition.
Farm members of the group hope a renewable electricity standard would propel a small wind-power industry in Tippecanoe, White and Benton counties, where federal wind maps show the highest sustained wind speeds in Indiana.Two California companies have announced plans for turbine farms in Benton County, but neither has been built.
Doug Morehouse, president of White County Farm Bureau, said renewable electricity standards have benefited 20 other states, even though wind power is not yet as cheap as coal-fired or nuclear power.
"But as a piece of the puzzle, it does help in the long run," he said.
According to Bruce Jaffee, an energy economist at Indiana University, a renewable electricity standard would force utilities to buy more costly energy than they could otherwise buy or generate.
He said the only economic justification for the requirement -- and for federal ethanol subsidies that cost taxpayers 50 cents per gallon -- is to stimulate an industry that policymakers decide they want."But it's very difficult to get rid of those subsidies once you start," he said.
Lawmakers considered but did not pass legislation this year on renewable energy standards.
Authored by Republican Rep. Don Lehe, a White County farmer, the bill would have required utilities to buy or generate 2 percent of their electricity supply from renewable power by 2008, rising to 10 percent by 2016.
The bill included wind, solar, biomass and hydropower as renewable sources.
Supporters hoped the administration would pursue the policy through an Alternative Electricity Task Force that Daniels formed, but Smith said the group has not met since an initial gathering in April.
Staff writer Martin DeAgostino:
mdeagostino@sbtinfo.com
(317) 634-1707
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