The American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) held a two day forum on Capitol Hill last week with hundreds of renewable energy executives, financial experts, and policy makers who remain optimistic about the industry’s future.

The 2008 Phase II of Renewable Energy in America National Policy Forum featured Policy recommendations on renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainable development, the environment and green jobs.

“There has never been a more opportune time to instill the philosophies of Phase II into federal policy,” said Michael Eckhart, President of ACORE. “There is a pressing need for policy stability so that companies have a reasoned basis for making long-term investments in factories and the financial community has confidence making investments in new projects.”

Among those who spoke was POET CEO Jeff Broin, who says the government needs to act within the next six months to increase the amount of ethanol that can be added to gasoline.

Broin warns that the ethanol industry will run into the so-called “blend wall” at 12.5 billion gallons because of the Environmental Protection Agency’s 10 percent ethanol blend limit.

Another speaker, former Senator Tom Daschle, spoke about the progress on biofuels noting that the United States must continue to turn to biofuels and next generation ethanol to reduce our dependence on oil.