Passes national renewable electricity standard for
the first time
Over
the weekend, the House of Representatives voted 241-172 to pass “The New
Direction for Energy Independence, National Security, and Consumer Protection
Act” (H.R. 3221), including an amendment to establish a national Renewable
Electricity Standard (RES). The passage of the RES along with the package of
legislation included in H.R. 3221 will make significant steps toward a cleaner
and more secure energy future for the United States.
“We
applaud today’s clean energy breakthrough in the U.S. Congress,” said Wisconsin
Environment Director Dan Kohler. “The
House of Representatives improved a good energy bill by adding a 15% renewable
electricity standard that will dramatically increase clean renewable power in
this country,” continued Kohler.
Despite
massive opposition by coal-fired utility companies and their allies, a broad coalition
of environmentalists, labor unions, farm groups, clean energy developers and
investors was able to pass the RES amendment 220-190.
"I think that this is a great piece of legislation
whose time has really come,” said Tehri Parker, Executive Director of Midwest
Renewable Energy Association. “There is
enormous support for clean energy at the grassroots level and it is exciting to
see our
national leaders taking energy policy in the right direction."
“The
United Steelworkers Union is committed to the fight for jobs and a clean
environment,” said Douglas Drake, of U.S. Steelworkers, District 2. “While
some of the worst polluters in the country pose an artificial choice between
economic development and a clean environment, our experience shows that a clean
environment can promote economic development and create jobs.”
H.R.
3221 would require that utilities generate 15% of their electricity from
renewable energy such as wind, solar, or biomass, or through energy efficiency
savings by 2020. The amendment was offered by Representatives Udall (NM),
Rodriguez (TX), and Platts (PA) and others. Specifically the RES:
- requires that utilities
generate a gradually increasing amount of their electric generation from
renewable energy sources including solar, wind, biomass, and geothermal,
starting in 2010.
- establishes a national system
for trading renewable energy credits.
- allows up to 27% of their
targeted requirement through energy efficiency savings (the equivalent of
up to 4% of the 15% requirement).
Other
important provisions in the bill include:
- The Natural Resources Title
(Title VII) which will take important steps toward restoring sound
stewardship to the management of our public lands, ensuring responsible
domestic energy development, developing alternative energy sources, and
helping America’s
fish and wildlife, public lands, coasts, and oceans adapt to global
warming.
- Title IX sets aggressive
targets for strengthening state building energy efficiency codes, adopts
beneficial reforms to Department of Energy (DOE) authority to issue energy
efficiency standards for appliance and equipment products, and establishes
new efficiency standards for products such as light bulbs, dishwashers and
clothes washers.
Missing
from the legislation considered today was an improvement in fuel economy. The
energy bill passed by the Senate in June includes fuel economy provisions,
which will be brought to conference with the House bill.
“We
applaud the House for promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy in this
bill,” said Kohler. “In particular, we thank Representatives Paul Ryan, Steve
Kagen, Ron Kind, Gwen Moore, Tammy Baldwin and Dave Obey for voting to include
the renewable electricity standard. We
are disappointed Representative Tom Petri voted against the renewable
electricity standard amendment but pleased he voted for the overall energy
bill.”
“We
look forward to seeing Congress pass a comprehensive energy bill that addresses
energy efficiency, fuel economy and renewable energy. We urge the Congress to
add the fuel economy provisions passed by the Senate in the final bill,”
continued Kohler.
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Wisconsin Environment
is a statewide, non-partisan, non-profit environmental advocacy organization
and is the new home of WISPIRG’s environmental work.
