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Sen. Tom Udall, together with six other Democrats, introduced the
Renewable Electricity Standard Act this week. The bill would mandate that 30 percent of the nation's electricity be generated from renewable sources 15 years from now. Currently, about
13 percent of U.S. electricity is produced from renewable sources, about half of that from hydroelectric installations.
Twenty-nine states already have renewable portfolio standards in place. Another eight states have renewable portfolio goals. Topping the list is Maine, whose standard is 40 percent by 2017. California is next, with a 33 percent mandate by 2020. Currently, renewable resources account for about 25 percent of electricity produced for California. Gov. Jerry Brown wants to boost that to 50 percent by 2030.
A bill to do just that died in the legislature a year ago under pressure from utilities and the fossil fuel industry. But another, A.B. 197, was introduced in January by Democratic State Assemblyman Eduardo Garcia. Estimates put the number of direct jobs in 2020 from renewables, conservation and efficiency as high as 750,000.
The other senators co-sponsoring the federal bill are Edward Markey of Massachusetts, Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, Michael Bennet of Colorado, Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Mazie K. Hirono of Hawaii. In a release posted at Udall's website:
"A national Renewable Electricity Standard will help slow utility rate increases and boost private investment in states like New Mexico—all while combatting climate change," said Udall, who helped pass RES legislation through the U.S. House of Representatives and has continued to champion the issue as senator. "Investing in homegrown clean energy jobs just makes sense, and that's why I'm continuing my fight for a national RES. More than half the states—including New Mexico—have widely successful RES policies, and it's time to go all in. I've long pushed for a ‘do it all, do it right' energy policy, and a RES will help us get there."
"Massachusetts is a clean-tech juggernaut, leading the way in creating 21st century clean energy jobs," Markey said. "A national Renewable Electricity Standard would create good paying jobs, save consumers money and reduce harmful carbon pollution. From Boston to Barstow, we can put our steelworkers and ironworkers and electricians to work building a new clean energy backbone for America." [...]
"Our record droughts, burning forests, dying fish, and melting icecaps all point to the urgency of taking on climate change," Merkley said. "The only answer is burning less fossil fuel and moving toward renewable energy. Senator Udall's bill would accelerate that transition and is a key to saving both our economy and our environment from the ravages of climate change."
Below the fold there's more to read on this subject.
The Union of Concerned Scientists this month published a study—Analysis of a 30 Percent by 2030 National Renewable Electricity Standard—that backs up Udall's and Markey's statements.
Among other things that report estimates that a nationwide 30 percent RES would mean a cumulative savings of $25.1 billion (0.5 percent) on consumer electricity and natural gas bills from 2015-2030, $294 billion in cumulative new capital investments from 2015-2030 ($106 billion more than business as usual), a 10.8 percent reduction in power sector CO2 emissions in 2030, $2.6 billion in cumulative property taxes paid to local governments from 2015-2030, and $830 million in cumulative wind power land lease payments to rural landowners from 2015-2030.
But does it have a ghost of a chance of passing Congress?
Frank Matzner at the Natural Resources Defense Council lays out some pitfalls:
What remains to be seen is if the Senate can walk the walk and avoid the types of proposals that have derailed past efforts. If not this moment will be sidelined by the kind of gamesmanship the American people loathe, and has sandbagged previous energy debates. More specifically, if the fossil-fueled bomb throwers can resist putting forward legislation that either blows up the bill or ruins the planet the Senate could get a different result from past energy debates that ended in failure.
Ari Phillips
writes:
A national RES may seem like a stretch for the current Congress, but there may be more promise than usual this year, as the bill is one of a number of energy related proposals to be considered by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee over the next couple months. As the Washington Examiner notes, these are not high-profile bills that will elicit major attention similar to the recent Keystone XL saga, but rather “fairly technical” efforts that could have broad-ranging impacts on U.S. energy policy. They include things like updating the country’s aging grid, investing in energy efficiency, adjusting electricity markets to prevent price distortions, and funding new ways of extracting natural gas.
Elgie Holstein, senior director for strategy planning at the Environmental Defense Fund, told ThinkProgress that the clean energy and energy efficiency bills are part of a number of ideas coming forward from the Democratic minority to “ensure that any energy legislation is balanced.”
Congress hasn't passed energy legislation for eight years. And, as Holstein points out, there is no way to tell how the Udall bill will fare given the divisions in both House and Senate. Unlike much other legislation, this bill's chances of passage are not huge but also not zero.
Holstein is absolutely right in noting that whatever its fate, it is worth pushing the RES legislation now. That's true of bills on many subjects. Progressives need to boost voter enthusiasm by showing them what kind of legislation and programs they would push if Democrats were again in the majority instead of twiddling their thumbs until they actually have that majority.