Gov. Jim Doyle called for further incorporation and use of renewable energy sources by the state Thursday at the second day of the Wisconsin Bioenergy Summit.

Doyle outlined ways affordable renewable energy could become a vital part of Wisconsin’s economy through using the money provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Doyle also said that while the state had previously set a goal to generate 10 percent of its energy from renewable sources by the year 2010, he would like to increase the goal to 25 percent by the year 2025.

“We’ve done a lot, but obviously there’s a lot more to do,” Doyle said.

While critics of Doyle’s plan may cite the current economic crisis as a reason to hold off on using money to research new energy sources, Doyle said the only way the state can protect itself from future depression is to move away from using fossil fuels for transportation.

“We cannot allow ourselves to get into a situation again where the whole economy depends on the cost of gasoline,” Doyle said.

Also speaking at the conference was Molly Jahn, dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, who will be leaving to work in President Barack Obama’s Department of Agriculture as the deputy undersecretary for research, education and economics.

Jahn credited Doyle with furthering Wisconsin’s use of renewable energy sources.

Despite Doyle’s enthusiasm for researching and developing bioenergy, others are wary about converting so much of the state’s energy to renewable sources so quickly, including the Republican Party of Wisconsin, RPW spokesperson Kristin Ruesch said.

“It’s unrealistic to call for that sweeping of a change when we haven’t fully seen what effect converting to more renewable energy will have on the consumer and Wisconsin’s industry,” Ruesch said. “For some businesses, this could be the cost that makes the difference between staying in Wisconsin and outsourcing.”

Although Ruesch said RPW is not opposed to using more renewable energy, she also thinks the state should leave itself open to other kinds of energy, such as nuclear energy.

While Doyle and Ruesch may disagree on the extent to which renewable energy should be used by Wisconsin in the near future, both agreed continuing research and development in this field is crucial.

“The state of Wisconsin will continue … to be the absolute leader in clean, diverse and renewable energy,” Doyle said.

The event was hosted at the Pyle Center by the Wisconsin Bioenergy Initiative, a part of the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center. The GLBR is one of three bioenergy research centers in the United States that were established by the Department of Energy in 2007 to develop new biofuels, according to a statement from GLBR.

The statement said university-based research, along with research from two national labs, a private corporation and multiple other schools — including Michigan State University — comprise GLBR.

According to Troy Runge, director of the Wisconsin Energy Initiative, the summit was created to allow researchers, energy-related political specialists and industry leaders to establish ongoing collaboration.

“We are looking for that input,” Runge said. “This isn’t supposed to be a one-way flow of information.”