Utah's attempt to become the nation's leader in renewable energy is happening "because the people are insisting that it get done," Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. said Friday.

"Yes, our base load has been, very reliably, coal from the very beginning, but the world is a changing place," Huntsman said at the annual meeting of U.S. members of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers in Salt Lake City. "And it always will be coal in terms of a very large percentage of what we rely upon. But on the other end, you've got to do something a little different. We're going to make it happen here."

The state already has established a goal of having 20 percent of its energy use in 2025 supplied by renewable resources. Huntsman said the Legislature is pondering measures to help meet that goal.

"At this legislative session that's going to end in a week and a half, I hope and I think and I'm pretty confident that we're going to have legislation that speaks to incentives — whether it's a tax holiday or a property-tax incentive, (and) also financing capabilities to tie into the grid," Huntsman told the group of about 235 people.

Bonding will be used to create a public/private partnership "to create that grid system that everyone says they need," capitalizing on southwestern Utah's wind, geothermal and solar energy potential, he said.

The governor's comments follow President Barack Obama's call this week before Congress for a "market-based cap" on greenhouse-gas emissions and using renewable energy resources to "transform" the country's struggling economy.

Huntsman on Friday recalled previous attempts by presidents to wean the U.S. from foreign oil. Fast advancements in computation, aerospace and biomedical research occurred during the Cold War because of national security concerns, but the electrical-distribution industry "is stuck in the '20s," he said.

"So, what is the organizing principle that's going to cause everybody to come together and say, 'We need to get this done, we need to become energy-independent, we need to have affordable energy, and we need a smart and reliable grid system that allows all of it to become a reality'?" Huntsman asked.

"I don't know the answers. All I can tell you is, based on where I sit as an elected official, the citizens are telling us this must be done and we want it done."

Speaking about the economy, the governor predicted "stabilization" and perhaps positive growth by the end of 2010.

"We've lost our engines of growth and we're kind of dropping in terms of altitude, trying to find the bottom, trying to get those engines of growth fired up. And we don't know when it's going to happen," he said. "When it does happen, boy, there's going to be a lot of pent-up demand out there in terms of the ability to get back into the marketplace and begin to purchase."

Contributing: Bloomberg News.

E-MAIL: bwallace@desnews.com