Reported by Ann Rascalli

At a cleantech gathering in Las Vegas, renewable energy leaders warned the United States is moving too slowly to turn the economy green, despite the White House’s support.

At this week’s National Clean Energy Summit sponsored by Senate Majority Leader and Nevada Democrat Harry Reid, and it is where executives from wind, solar, geothermal and other industries argued utilities should be required to buy much more renewable energy and warned that unless the federal government closes a hole in climate legislation, the energy can’t reach homes that need it.

Among other themes, the conference stressed new technologies from renewable energy and cleantech executives said more progress could take place faster, if the government did not place so many hurdles to overcome and provided better incentives and support for buyers.

Current and former politicians sattending the event spoke up on behalf of the new energy era, calling for more loan guarantees and federal spending on efficiency while speaking at the National Clean Energy Summit sponsored by Senate Majority Leader and Nevada Democrat Harry Reid.

A huge concern voiced by attendees and conference speakers is the lack of a transmission grid to handle all the added power generation coming online from renewable sources.

A couple of key industry people stressed that the issue wasn’t really new technology, but rather enlisting a better effort at deploying what it has. “The technology is there, scalability is the issue,” said Senator Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington told Reuters.

Current energy legislation being considered by the Senate was, of course, one of the biggest topics for discussion. Some criticized a national “cap-and-trade” plan to allow power producers to trade carbon pollution credits as not going far enough.

“I would not be satisfied with an energy bill unless it had a strong component of transmission,” Senator Reid told attendees. Reid’s home state of Nevada hopes to become a major energy exporter — not surprising, given its wide open spaces and wind and solar potential.

American Wind Energy Association The Chief Executive of the American Wind Energy Association Denise Bode pointed out the market was already moving ahead of targets for renewables in the federal bill.

“This legislation has to be strong, or the jobs won’t be there,” she said in an interview.

Former President Clinton said jobs and energy gains were achievable if we made buildings more energy efficient, which is being done in some states like Colorado through funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

In a speech before an intent audience, he said, “The least sexy topic is where the new jobs are,” he said in a speech, arguing that the federal government needed to step in to make sure loans were available to homeowners.