Christine Stuart Photo
The two co-chairs of the Energy and Technology Committee extended an olive branch to environmentalists and advocates Thursday when they crashed a press conference in opposition to a bill they helped draft.
“We’re really all on the same side,” Rep. Lonnie Reed, D‑Branford, told advocates Thursday before leaving so they could pan portions of the bill.
The bill, which passed out of committee earlier this week, tries to come up with new ways to help the state buy 20 percent of its power from clean, renewable generators by 2020. The state is paying financial penalties for not reaching its renewable goal and the legislation seeks to correct that.
“We want to have the cleanest energy possible. We want more wind, more solar, fuel cells, more clean biomass, and more affordable rates for ratepayers,” Reed said.
