Washington International Renewable Energy Conference
Report highlights three-day conference
National Renewable Energy Lab gives preliminary impact
assessment of Washington International Action Plan Pledges
WASHINGTON, July 22, 2008 - As a follow-up to the successful Washington
International Renewable Energy Conference (WIREC 2008), the United
States today announced the launch of the WIREC Conference Report. (...)
In addition, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory has published a
preliminary impact assessment of the pledges submitted to the Washington
International Action Program.
The WIREC 2008 Report is a comprehensive overview of the three-day
March conference which focused on cross-cutting renewable energy policy
issues: research and development; market adoption and finance;
agriculture, forestry, and rural development; and involvement of
sub-national authorities. "The vast supply of renewable energy resources
must be harnessed in ways that are technically feasible, financially
viable and socially acceptable," said Ambassador Reno Harnish, Principal
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans, Environment and Science.
"The United States looks forward to working together with public and
private partners, both domestic and international, to make renewable
energy a growing reality in the years to come".
The National Renewable
Energy Laboratory (REL) has been authorized by the U.S. government to
document the carbon dioxide (CO2) savings from the pledges made at WIREC
2008 . These pledges represent a large number of players and sectors
from participating countries demonstrating the wide variety of
opportunities that exist to accelerate renewable energy markets around
the world. Upon receiving and reviewing comments on their preliminary
assessment from the pledging entities, NREL plans to publish a robust
impact analysis in August.
"The pledges are truly the most important
outcome of this conference and will create economic opportunity for
rural communities globally," said Under Secretary of Agriculture for
Rural Development, Thomas Dorr. "The 145 WIREC pledges have the
potential to provide thousands of megawatts of renewable electricity
capacity through 2030, and eliminate billions of tons of CO2 that would
have otherwise been generated from conventional sources".
In partnership
with the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21), WIREC 2008 gathered specific, policy-oriented initiatives that will
significantly increase the presence of renewable energy worldwide. A
complete list of the pledges made at WIREC 2008 may be found at:
http://www.ren21.net/wiap/wirec.asp.
WIREC 2008 was hosted by the
United States government, with participation from numerous agencies,
including the Departments of State, Agriculture, Commerce, Interior, and
Energy, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency, the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the White House Council on
Environmental Quality.
An international platform for government, private
sector, and non-governmental leaders to jointly address the goal of
advancing renewable energy, WIREC 2008 was the third global
ministerial-level conference on renewable energy, following events in
Beijing in 2005 and Bonn in 2004. India has offered and been selected by
the WIREC 2008 participants to host the next International Renewable
Energy Conference in 2010.
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For more information on WIREC, visit
www.wirec2008.gov.