Solar, Wind Industries Head to Washington

In this March 24, 2009 photo, solar panels are in place on a Rockefeller Center rooftop in midtown...

In this March 24, 2009 photo, solar panels are in place on a Rockefeller Center rooftop in midtown Manhattan in New York. Solar panel makers and installers, which have sprouted around the country thanks to generous government subsidies, are positioning themselves as more than a tool for cleaning the air. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

(AP)

NEW YORK — With more than $11 billion in subsidies up for grabs, Congress and state governor's offices are getting lots of attention from lobbyists as the solar and wind energy industries maneuver for the lions' share.

The Solar Energy Industries Association spent $540,000 on lobbying in the second quarter of this year, which is more than it spent on lobbyists in all of 2007.

Solar representatives believe that they can create more jobs than other alternative energy sectors, so they should get a bigger slice of that pie.

"You get the best bang for your buck by investing in residential solar," said Rhone Resch, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association. "This is about taking the tradesmen who have been let go from the housing industry, and putting them back to work — the electricians, the plumbers, the roofers," he said.

Meanwhile, the American Wind Energy Association more than tripled lobbying budget, spending $1.83 million in the second quarter.

"We all want to create jobs," said Elizabeth Salerno, director of industry data and analysis at American Wind Energy Association. But with wind, the government is investing in a technology that can have a major impact on the electrical grid right now, Salerno said.

Both are relatively new when it comes to government arm-twisting, however, and industry lobbyists still struggle to be heard over their well-funded counterparts in the petroleum and coal industries.

Chevron Corp. spent $6 million in the second-quarter alone. The oil and gas industry spent $44.5 million lobbying Congress and federal agencies in the first three months of this year.

Lobbyists for fossil fuels have been a mainstay in the halls of Congress for generations, and they've secured millions in government subsidies as well. But they also justify it by delivering most of the power on the American electrical grid. They offer higher paying jobs as well.