U.S. government officials are following up on the success of last March’s Washington International Renewable Energy Conference (WIREC 2008) with a report of that three-day conference.

This press release from the USDA announces the launch of the WIREC Conference Report at www.WIREC2008.gov, as well as the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s release of a preliminary impact assessment of the pledges submitted to the Washington International Action Program at: http://www.nrel.gov/analysis/wirec/pledges_08.html :

The WIREC 2008 Report is a comprehensive overview of the three-day March conference which focused on cross-cutting renewable energy policy issues: research and development; market adoption and finance; agriculture, forestry, and rural development; and involvement of sub-national authorities. “The vast supply of renewable energy resources must be harnessed in ways that are technically feasible, financially viable and socially acceptable,” said Ambassador Reno Harnish, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans, Environment and Science. “The United States looks forward to working together with public and private partners, both domestic and international, to make renewable energy a growing reality in the years to come.”

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has been authorized by the U.S. government to document the carbon dioxide (CO2) savings from the pledges made at WIREC 2008 . These pledges represent a large number of players and sectors from participating countries demonstrating the wide variety of opportunities that exist to accelerate renewable energy markets around the world. Upon receiving and reviewing comments on their preliminary assessment from the pledging entities, NREL plans to publish a robust impact analysis in August.

Officials say the 145 pledges are the most important outcome from the conference, having the potential to provide thousands of megawatts of renewable electricity capacity through 2030, while eliminating billions of tons of CO2.