The West has the best solar resource in the country, huge wind power potential, and significant geothermal and biomass opportunities. Possibilities to encourage clean energy and economic development include tax credits and utility requirements for renewable energy sources, appliance standards and building codes, and public benefits funds to support energy efficiency investments.

The Hewlett Foundation has made a grant to the Energy Foundation to help develop an energy vision—focusing on electric energy—for the region, and then see that vision come into being through analysis, education, and work with appropriate regulatory forums.

An early product of this work is the Renewable Energy Atlas and a series of papers on the California energy crisis, available at http://www.ef.org/energyseries.cfm.

All grants under this section of the strategy will be made by the Energy Foundation, which can be reached at www.ef.org.

In our program on the Intermountain West, we plan to fund efforts to reduce the threats from coalbed methane, oil, and gas projects. This is described in our Western strategy, which you may find by clicking on the West link in the menu bar above.