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Wind power and other clean energy sources hogged the spotlight this week in Montgomery County.

State lawmakers called on Congress to pass a federal clean energy bill now coursing through committees that resembles legislation Maryland already has passed.

The call for the legislation, at a press conference in front of the Clean Energy Center at the Universities at Shady Grove in Rockville, came around the same time that Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) was announcing that four of the county's five business incubators have switched to wind-generated electricity. He expects that move to save county coffers about $67,000 annually.

Sen. Paul G. Pinsky said the General Assembly moved forward with its own legislation to advance clean energy and reduce greenhouse gases because the federal government was not addressing the issue.

"We need federal legislation. We don't want to wait state after state after state," said Pinsky (D-Dist. 22) of University Park. "Even as we worked our rear ends to get this bill passed in Maryland, all along we thought it would be better to have federal legislation that affected everyone."

The federal bill — the American Clean Energy and Security Act — would require 20 percent of electricity providers' output in 2020 to come from renewable resources, which include wind, solar and biomass. The measure also calls for a reduction in global warming pollution, by 83 percent of 2005 levels by 2050.

Pinsky said it was important to make greenhouse gas reductions as soon as possible.

"If we can't make the reductions now, making 2050 is going to be very difficult," he said.

Sponsored by Reps. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Edward Markey (D-Mass.), the federal bill also supports electric vehicles and greater energy efficiency in building codes. Supporters say the measure will create jobs.

Tony Clifford, CEO of Standard Solar of Gaithersburg, said his company has expanded from three employees to about 60 in three years in part because of the General Assembly. Lawmakers have called for more renewable energy and a grants program to pay for solar energy projects, which have fueled his company's expansion, he said.

Pinsky and Clifford were joined by House Majority Leader Kumar P. Barve and Maryland Environment Secretary Shari Wilson at the press conference.

Barve (D-Dist. 17) of Gaithersburg said that in addition to pollution reduction and job creation, the federal government needs clean energy for national security.

"It's a tragedy that every time we fill up our gas tank we are partly funding the people who attacked us on 9/11," he said.

Setting an example with incubators

Meanwhile, Leggett said the switch to wind energy at the business incubators is important if the county expects to persuade more residents, businesses and nonprofits to switch to green energy usage.

"We have to set an example," he said.

The Montgomery County Economic Development Corp. signed a three-year contract with Clean Currents LLC, a renewable energy broker that offers electricity to customers that is presently below current utility rates.

The company, in the downtown Rockville incubator, monitors rates from competing suppliers to find the lowest one for a new client, said Gary Skulnik, president and co-founder.

"The savings for the county is based on what it cost the county in the previous 12 months, compared with what it would have cost under the current contract," Skulnik said.

Large utilities such as Pepco, which services most of Montgomery County, purchase electricity through long-term contracts that don't change when wholesale energy prices decline, as they have in recent months.

The economic development agency co-owns and co-manages four incubators — two in Rockville and one each in Germantown and Silver Spring — that provide space, receptionists, consulting, seminars and other aid to fledgling companies. The Wheaton incubator uses leased space, and officials are working to convert its electricity to renewable sources, said John A. Korpela, manager of the county's business innovation centers.

Clean Currents buys renewable power from wind farms in states such as Texas. More than 300 businesses, including Fitzgerald Auto Group and My Organic Market, and 2,000 residential customers in Maryland and the Washington region have switched their usage through the company. Clean Currents started about 2� years ago with two employees and is up to 10, with plans to hire more, Skulnik said.

Making the switch

Information on switching electricity usage to renewable energy: www.cleancurrents.com.