In a speech today at the Indiana Chamber’s Annual Conference on Energy Management, Mike Pence detailed the importance of Indiana’s energy policy to bringing new jobs. “Indiana offers some of the lowest-cost energy in the Midwest,” said Pence. “Maintaining that is critical to attracting new companies and new jobs to the state.” Pence said that with many of Indiana’s electrical plants nearing retirement, Indiana could face a 34 percent increase in the cost of electricity in the next five years. He proposed pursuing an “all of the above” energy strategy that calls upon a broad range of energy options to help keep energy costs low. Those options include Indiana’s vast stores of coal, biofuels and biomass, oil and natural gas reserves, wind, solar and advanced nuclear energy technology. Pence proposed to make the Office of Energy Development (OED) the state’s energy hub, consolidating the state’s energy activities in that office. OED would immediately update Governor Daniels’ Homegrown Energy Plan and build on its vision for the future of energy in Indiana.
OED also will work with inventors, entrepreneurs and investors to move energy technologies out of the lab and into the marketplace. This will be done in partnership with the new Indiana Applied Research Enterprise (IARE). “Indiana must build on its traditional sources of energy and seek to diversify its energy mix to give consumers affordable options and keep Hoosiers’ costs low,” said Pence. “To do that, we have to support efforts to commercialize new energy technologies to support Indiana’s businesses and families.”
Pence also called for Indiana to continue the progress it has made in improving the state’s environmental health, particularly in air quality and water quality. In addition, he unveiled plans to enhance Hoosiers’ access to recreation at Indiana’s state parks.
For more details on Pence’s proposal visit: www.mikepence.com/issues.
Source: Pence for Indiana