US senators support solar power
2010-03-10 17:06
Washington – The US could source 10% of its electricity from solar power by 2030, a report said on Tuesday, winning support from a US lawmaker who wants to boost the number of US solar panels.
The report, produced by the independent environmental group Environment America, was presented to Congress with backing from Senator Bernie Sanders who in February introduced legislation to install 10 million solar panels across the US within a decade.
Sanders praised the report, which said the US could get 10% of its electricity from solar power by 2030, up from just 0.1% in 2008, according to the Energy Information Administration.
Sanders's bill, which has gained the support of several other Democratic senators, proposes "rebates for the purchase and installation of an additional 10 million solar roofs... by 2019".
"At a time when we spend $350bn importing oil from Saudi Arabia and other countries every year, the US must move away from foreign oil to energy independence," Sanders told a news conference on Tuesday.
The legislation introduced by Sanders, who heads a sub-committee on green jobs, would offer a rebate of $1.75 per watt of installed capacity in 2010, an offer that would fall to $0.25 per watt by 2019.