Among the challenges outlined by President Barack Obama in his inaugural address today was a nod to the need for alternative energy sources in our nation.

“We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories,” the new president said as part of his paragraph on “work that needs to be done” in America.

President Obama also noted that “each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet,” which highlights two reasons to continue on the road to domestic fuel – energy independence and the environment.

Last week, Obama outlined his American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan, which includes doubling the production of renewable energy over three years, creating jobs in the development of new energy technologies and increasing the energy efficiency of millions of American homes. Now that he is in office, the challenge will be to implement that plan.