Clean energy and the "green jobs" attached to it enjoyed wide support in testimony at a Senate hearing in Pittsburgh today but differences remain about how and how quickly federal policies should push those goals.

Sen Arlen Specter, D-Pa., who hosted the hearing, acknowledged those tensions between "competing interests" in Pennsylvania coal, natural gas and alternative energy industries as the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee began work on legislation titled "Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act," introduced earlier this month.

Michael Peck, North American spokesman for Gamesa USA, a Spanish wind turbine manufacturer with factories and 850 employees in Pennsylvania, urged establishment of a national standard mandating 12 percent renewable energy by 2012.

Stan Johnson, secretary-treasurer of the United Steelworkers international executive board, said the union supports caps on carbon emissions under discussion in Congress but only if the program contains strong protections to prevent job loss to nations that don't enact pollution controls.

Steven Winberg, vice president for research and development for Consol Energy, the state's biggest coal mining company, said the legislation should provide increased funding for development of carbon capture and storage technology.

Looking for more from the Post-Gazette? Join PG+, our members-only web site. You'll get exclusive sports content, opinion, financial information, discounts from retailers and restaurants, and more. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.