Advertisement

Palin distinguishes herself as the only governor to refuse energy conservation funds.

Every single governor except Sarah Palin (R-AK) has written to Energy Secretary Steven Chu accepting millions of stimulus dollars meant to increase energy conservation and efficiency. Last month, Palin rejected $28.6 million for energy conservation work because she said it would force Alaska buildings to adhere to a “universal energy code.” Newsminer points out that the Energy Department has accepted other states’ pledges to simply work with local governments to improve efficiency, and that no “universal” requirement is needed:

The federal stimulus law requires states to pledge they will meet energy efficiency standards on 90 percent of new and renovated commercial and residential square footage by 2017.

Alaska could likely achieve that goal by relying on municipal standards in Anchorage, Fairbanks and its other urban areas (with the vast majority of Alaska’s building square footage), without needing a statewide code,” [Harry Persily, an aide to the House Finance Committee in Juneau] said in an e-mail to legislators Friday.

Advertisement