VALPARAISO | The city could serve as an example for other communities by encouraging the use of renewable energy sources like wind power, a consultant told Valparaiso's Energy Task Force on Monday.

Jesse Kharbanda, of the Environmental Law and Policy Center, said Indiana has the potential to generate an estimated 40,000 kilowatts of electricity from wind, more than is now generated by all the power plants in the state. The potential is the greatest in the northern part of the state, he said.

Duke Energy Corp., which reportedly is buying NIPSCO, plans to build a wind farm in Benton County that would generate about 200 kilowatts. Kharbanda said the city could insist that a portion of the power it purchases from the utility be from the wind farm. In doing so it would follow the example of the state government.

Gov. Mitch Daniels has said he wants 10 percent of the power purchased by the state to come from renewable energy by 2017 and to increase to 25 percent by 2025. Electric generating plants. mostly powered by coal, contribute 30 percent to 35 percent of the world's greenhouse gases, Kharbanda said.

Ninety percent of Indiana's power plants are coal-fired, and no coal-fired plants have the ability to clean the coal enough to prevent the gas emissions. The technology for doing so will not be available for at least seven to 10 years, he said. That's why, he said, it is so important to encourage the development of alternative power sources, including the use of biomass.

The task force is working on recommendations on how to reduce both the use and the costs of the city's energy. Co-chairman Ann Kenis said she hopes to have the preliminary suggestions in the next month or so.

Kharbanda said a renewable energy bill failed to make it through the state Legislature this year, but he expects it to be enacted in the next year or so. He recommended the city get behind the effort by adopting a resolution setting goals for the use of renewable sources.

Indiana ranks among the top five states in the nation for pollution levels, and 40 percent of the state's population is affected by particulate emissions in the counties that aren't in compliance with the federal standards, which includes Northwest Indiana.

About $5 billion in lost production and premature death result from the pollution, and the health effects of coal, including mercury poisoning, start at the mining level and continue up through burning it. With tougher regulations on carbon emissions, including taxes, expected in the near future, the cost to industry and ratepayers will grow, Kharbanda said.

"The best way to impact air quality is through renewable energy source policies at the state level along with conservation," he said.

BREAKOUT

An energy boost

Promoting renewable energy could stimulate a new, sustainable industry that would generate thousands of jobs, both in construction and in the operation of the plants, improve health and reduce the effects of global warming, said Jesse Kharbanda, of the Environmental Law and Policy Center.

It also could provide a boon for farmers because wind generators tend to be built on farm lands. The land can be used right up to the base of the wind turbine, and the farmer can earn $4,000 to $9,000 per turbine annually. Besides adding to income, it would increase the value of the land, Kharbanda said.