Democratic Party Releases Official 2012 Stance On Energy Policy; SEIA Responds

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With the Democratic National Convention now under way in Charlotte, N.C., the Democratic Party has released its 2012 National Platform, which includes the party's stance on renewable energy.

In the document, President Barack Obama and his fellow Democrats call for an ‘all of the above’ energy policy that pursues development of solar power and other forms of renewable energy, as well as fossil fuels.

Over the last four years, Obama's administration has supported nearly 225,000 clean energy jobs, and electricity procurement from wind and solar has doubled, according to the party platform. ‘President Obama has encouraged innovation to reach his goal of generating 80 percent of our electricity from clean energy sources by 2035,’ the platform adds.

In a statement, Rhone Resch, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), applauded Obama and the Democratic Party for recognizing the role of solar power as part of a broader energy strategy. Resch also praised the party platform's call for continuing incentives for renewable energy manufacturing.

‘Democrats support making America the world's leader in building a clean energy economy by extending clean energy incentives that support American businesses and American jobs in communities across the country,’ the platform says. ‘It's not enough to invent clean energy technologies here; we want to make them here and sell them around the world.’

Although the platform does not directly mention the U.S.' trade conflict with China over tariffs on imported solar modules, it discusses the president's efforts to address Chinese currency-valuation issues. Additionally, Obama's administration has doubled the rate of trade cases brought against China over the rate of the previous administration, according to the document.

‘The president is committed to continuing to fight unfair trade practices that disadvantage American producers and workers, including illegal subsidies, non-tariff barriers, and abuse of worker rights or environmental standards,’ the platform says. (SEIA did not comment on this specific portion of the platform.)

The entire 2012 Democratic National Platform is available here. For Republican candidate Mitt Romney's energy plans, as well as SEIA's response, click here.

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