Governors Warn Energy Plan Could Stifle Growth

Barbour and the other governors said that while "the train is moving" toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions, a new national energy policy will have to include all forms of power — from traditional fossil fuels to technologies such as solar and wind power without driving up costs.

"If we don't have reliable low-cost energy, we will no longer be a political power," said West Virginia Gov. Joe Machin III, a Democrat.

At the same time, developing a new energy policy will give states a chance to create jobs, said Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe, a Democrat. For example, there are few spots in Arkansas suited for wind generation, but the state has recently attracted four foreign companies that make the components for wind power, he said.

Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue, a Republican, said his state's chief contribution to new energy sources likely would be biofuels produced from crops. He called for a national discussion among state and federal officials to come up with a policy that would not lead the U.S. into "the abyss of the unknown that will put us at an economic disadvantage for the foreseeable future.

"I'm not willing to concede that 535 citizens of the United States know best," Perdue said in reference to Congress.