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Empresas y finanzas

Obama sets 2035 clean energy mandate to boost jobs


    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will set a goal for U.S. power plants to produce 80 percent clean electricity by 2035 in his State of the Union address on Tuesday to help boost the economy and create jobs.

    Obama will say clean coal and natural gas, two fossil fuels that have not often been considered forms of clean energy, would be needed to meet that goal.

    "Some folks want wind and solar. Others want nuclear, clean coal, and natural gas," Obama said in prepared remarks released by the White House. "To meet this goal, we will need them all and I urge Democrats and Republicans to work together to make it happen."

    Obama said he wants Congress to eliminate billions of dollars in subsidies for oil companies to help pay for investment in clean technologies, such as wind and solar power.

    "I don't know if you've noticed, but they're doing just fine on their own," Obama said about oil company profits in the annual address. "So instead of subsidizing yesterday's energy, let's invest in tomorrow's."

    Last year Obama said energy policy would have to get done in smaller chunks after a comprehensive energy bill that included a cap and trade market on carbon emissions failed in the Senate.

    (Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Eric Walsh)