Secretary Salazar Highlights Role of Interior Department in Developing Renewable Energy, 21st Century Transmission Grid

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar discusses role on U.S. public lands in clean energy development at National Clean Energy Project Conference on Feb. 23, 2009. Former President Bill Clinton also was a member of the panel.

[Photo by Tami Heilemann, DOI] Hi-Res

WASHINGTON, D.C. –Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar participated in an historic roundtable of many of the nation's top leaders today at a summit examining how development of renewable energy in conjunction with a “National Clean Energy Smart Grid” is an economic, environmental and national security imperative.

Salazar joined former President Bill Clinton, former Vice President Al Gore, Secretary of Energy Stephen Chu, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, energy entrepreneur T. Boone Pickens and others in a roundtable discussion at the event.

“The Department of the Interior can play some significant roles--first with respect to siting and second with respect to transmission,” Salazar said at the “"National Clean Energy Project: Building the New Economy" held at the Newseum in downtown Washington. “We manage 20 percent of the land mass of the United States and 1.7 billion acres of the Outer Continental Shelf,” he noted.

Highlighting the importance of these public lands and offshore areas under the Department of the Interior's jurisdiction, the Secretary pointed to “a huge energy potential for wind in the Atlantic, a huge solar potential in the Southwest and a whole host of other items in the portfolio of renewable energy.” The Secretary cautioned, however, that the success of these efforts would depend on getting the energy from the places where it is produced to the places where it is consumed.

“Unless we are able to deal with the transmission issue, we will be standing in place 5 or 10 years from now. It is appropriate for…Congress and President Obama to be absolutely focused like a laser beam on transmission.”

Convened by Center for America Progress Action Fund President John Podesta, the National Clean Energy Project summit is described in further detail at http://nationalcleanenergyproject.org. A podcast of the Secretary's remarks can be found at http://www.doi.gov/news/audio/podcasts/index.html.