MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. (AP) -- Republican gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie laid out a renewable plan that you might expect from a Democrat.
In the five-minute video on his Web site, Christie talks mostly about the ecnomic benefits of renewable energy set against the backdrop of music and images of solar panels, wind turbines and, in one case, President Obama.
He's taking his plan on the road Tuesday and Wednesday while questioning Democratic incumbent Jon Corzine's ability to make meaningful progress on renewable energy devleopment.
The two are not far apart on their views of renewable energy's role, though they have different ideas about how to carry out their plans.
Christie said that as governor, he would try to persuade companies to manufacture solar panels and wind turbines in New Jersey and offer them tax credits; market green energy to consumers; install solar farms on every landfill; and make permits for solar farms easier to get and use preserved farmland for solar panels.
``There is no doubt that renewable energy is our future here in New Jersey,'' he said on a campaign video posted Monday on the Web.
On the video, Christie blames Corzine, who calls for some of the same measures, for not taking the state further.
He cites a federal report that found New Jersey 43rd in production of renewable energy in 2007. Just over 1 percent of the state's energy that year came from renewable sources.
``That's simply not good enough,'' he said. ``It's not meeting the president's goals and it's not meeting the needs of New Jersey's citizens.''
Corzine's campaign on Monday offered a brighter picture of where the state stands: the state has one of the nation's biggest solar programs to encourage solar power and is trying to develop the nation's first offshore wind energy project Corzine also signed a plan calling for 30 percent of the state's energy to be renewable by 2020.
Corzine campaign spokesman Sean Darcy blasted Christie's proposal to give companies 100 percent corporate tax credits for manufacturing in renewable energy equipment, calling it ``reminiscent of the type of policies given to us by George W. Bush.''
Jeff Tittel, director of the state chapter of the Sierra Club, said his group also thinks Corzine has moved too slowly on renewable energy and that Christie's plan is a good step. But the group isn't ready to make an endorsement in the Nov. 3 election yet, he said. ``We're up for grabs.''
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