Colorado Governor Bill Ritter Jr. and Nevada Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford Honored for Outstanding Contributions to Solar Energy Policy
March 17, 2010 – San Francisco – The Vote Solar Initiative announced the 2010 winners of its fourth annual “Solar Champion Awards.” The awards honor policy and regulatory leaders for outstanding efforts to foster strong solar energy markets in the United States.
“Solar holds great promise for overcoming our nation’s environmental and economic challenges, but it needs strong leaders to turn opportunity into reality. These two award recipients have all demonstrated the strength of vision, voice and determination needed move our new solar economy forward,” said Adam Browning, executive director of Vote Solar. “It is with great pleasure we honor their achievements to date and look forward to much continued solar success.”
This year’s Solar Champion Award winners are:
Governor Bill Ritter, Jr. is making Colorado’s New Energy Economy a national model for creating jobs, attracting companies and producing innovative clean-energy technologies. With Colorado’s abundant supplies of wind, sun and natural gas, nearly 17,000 Coloradans now work in renewable energy and energy research jobs, the fourth-highest concentration in the country. Gov. Ritter also enacted Colorado’s first Climate Action Plan and is leading Colorado to a more diverse, secure and affordable clean-energy future through legislation that increased the state’s renewable energy standard in 2007. In his final year, Gov. Ritter is again working to increase the renewable energy standard to 30 percent by 2020 and create 100,000 solar rooftops with a 3 percent carve-out for distributed generation.
Nevada State Senator Steven Horsford is co-chair of the state’s Senate Finance Committee and serves on the Senate Committees for Health & Education and Government Affairs. In 2009, Senator Horsford spearheaded a progressive clean energy policy agenda. Thanks to his leadership, the state now has one of the strongest RPS’s in the country: 25% renewable by 2025, with a 6% solar carve-out. He championed a “green jobs” bill (SB 152) to create jobs and provide training to support energy efficiency and renewable energy. In addition to increasing the RPS & enhancing the solar DG program, his SB 358 created the Nevada Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Authority to promote renewable energy development and increased the role of the Nevada system of higher education to educate students to support the renewable energy industry. Senator Horsford was a key supporter of renewable energy tax abatements that are instrumental in attracting large-scale solar development to the state.
Anoosh Mizany, President of California-based Solar Depot, received a special lifetime achievement award. Together with his wife Kija, Mizany has spent three decades working to provide solar equipment to homes and businesses and trained hundreds of installers and contractors in the new solar economy. California’s leadership position in solar is built upon the hard work and vision of industry pioneers like Mizany.
The 2010 Award recipients were honored at Vote Solar’s Equinox Celebration and Fundraiser held March 16th in San Francisco. This year’s event drew more than 700 attendees from across the policy, renewable energy industry and environmental advocacy communities.
Past Solar Champion Award recipients include: US Rep. Giffords (AZ), Arizona Corporation Commissioner Mayes, California Assemblymember Skinner, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California State Senator Mark Leno, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and CPUC President Michael Peevey.
About the Vote Solar Initiative: Vote Solar is a non-profit grassroots organization working to fight climate change and foster economic opportunity by bringing solar energy into the mainstream. Since 2002 Vote Solar has engaged in state, local and federal advocacy campaigns to remove regulatory barriers and implement the key policies needed to bring solar to scale. www.votesolar.org