Labor-enviro lobbying coalition swells

The nine unions in the group include the Communications Workers of America, the Utility Workers Union, the Service Employees International Union and, most recently, the United Auto Workers.

The BlueGreen Alliance works inside the Beltway and also does grassroots work, such as a nationwide bus tour over the summer that pushes for energy and climate legislation.

Climate legislation collapsed in the Senate this year. Yvette Pena Lopes, BlueGreen’s director of legislation and intergovernmental affairs, told E&ETV this week that the group’s fall agenda includes legislation creating a renewable electricity standard and increasing a federal tax credit for expanded manufacturing of clean energy equipment.

The tax credit, included in the 2009 stimulus law, was capped at $2.3 billion and applications have far outstripped that ceiling.