Barbara Hayes, executive director of the Sacramento Area Commerce and Trade Organization, said state-backed laws have set "very aggressive" renewable energy goals.

Hayes was in Washington with a large delegation of business and community leaders from California seeking to persuade federal lawmakers to extend increased support to so-called clean technologies such as wind and solar power.

Paul Misso, the chief executive of California-based Marquiss Wind Power, said he was working hard to change the social perceptions of placing a compact wind turbine on a roof to generate renewable electricity.

Misso's firm, which has only been in business since 2006, markets framed roof top wind turbines that pivot into the prevailing wind for commercial buildings.

"Rooftops have very turbulent winds. It's a great place to harness the wind for power generation," Misso said, during a break at a Washington hotel from back-to-back business and lobbying meetings.