Huntsman: Utah Can Be Renewable Energy Leader

January 28, 2009

The Associated Press - By BROCK VERGAKIS
Gov. Jon Huntsman set a goal Tuesday of making Utah a national
leader in developing renewable energy by 2012 during his State of the State
address.
"Just as Wall Street is known for finance and Silicone Valley for
technology, by 2012, I believe Utah can become the premier
destination in America for renewable energy," Huntsman said.

Huntsman is increasingly attempting to brand himself as part of
a new breed of Western Republicans that embrace the environment as an
issue that the GOP can use to aggressively compete with Democrats and draw
young people to the party.

"If we are going to take air quality seriously, which we must for the
sake of the next generation, we must be bold; we must be visionary.
Our aspirations should be nothing short of extraordinary," he said.

Huntsman not only says global warming is real, but that the state
needs to do everything it can to combat it. This runs contrary to many
members of his own party in conservative dominated Utah.

For Huntsman, there's little political risk. He's the most
popular governor in state history and has repeatedly said he wouldn't seek a
third term.

Huntsman says Utah can be an epicenter for energy development,
but it needs land, transmission and a regulatory framework to make it happen.

In a speech heavy on hope and light on details, Huntsman urged
lawmakers to pass unspecified incentives to accomplish his goal.

"We must pass legislation this year to incentivize, rather than
penalize, innovative technologies where the risk is real, but the
reward is great," he said.

Huntsman also set a goal of designating Interstate 15 from
Idaho to Arizona - about 400 miles - as a natural gas corridor.

Personal ownership of natural gas-fueled vehicles in Utah has
soared from practically nothing a few years ago to an estimated 5,000
vehicles today, overwhelming a growing refueling network, where compressors
sometimes can't maintain enough pressure to fill tanks completely for every
customer.

Huntsman himself paid $12,000 of his own money to modify a
state-owned Chevrolet Suburban to compressed natural gas last June.

Utah has 91 stations, including 20 open to the public, mostly
in the Salt Lake City area. The others are reserved for commercial drivers,
such as school districts, bus fleets and big businesses such as a Coca-Cola
distributor.

While recognizing new infrastructure would be needed to
establish a corridor, Huntsman did not say how Utah would pay for it.

State revenues are plummeting and the governor's budget
proposal is about $1 billion less than the one he proposed last year. Huntsman
suggested forming a partnership with the local utility to create the corridor.

"Working with Questar, a great local company, to encourage the
use of natural gas, which emits almost no pollution, is more affordable and
most importantly, is a domestic fuel found right here in our own backyard;
getting Utah, and the nation, one step closer to breaking our
addiction to foreign oil," he said.

On the Net: Gov. Jon Huntsman http://www.utah.gov/governor/index.html