The big news this week was that the U.S. House passed an energy bill that for the first time included a federal renewable energy standard (RES). This RES – an amendment to the energy bill sponsored by Representatives Tom Udall (D-NM) and Todd Platts (R-PA) – requires utilities to get 15 percent of their power from renewables by the year 2020. Other components of the House energy bill include:

• Moving $16 billion in tax incentives away from oil companies and putting it towards renewable energy.
• New energy efficiency standards for appliances and building codes.
• The creation of a Solar Energy Industries Research and Promotion Board to raise national awareness of solar energy options. The program would be funded completely by a portion of solar industry revenues, with no appropriations authorized.
• A modified 4-year extension of the wind power Production Tax Credit (PTC) that limits the credit to 35 percent of wind project costs.

Not in the bill is an increase in the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFÉ) standards (a.k.a. “fuel efficiency”) that was a hot topic as the session came to a close. By avoiding a vote on CAFE standards, Democrats avoid public in-fighting with fellow Dems from auto industry states, notably Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell (D-MI).

The Senate already approved an increase in fuel efficiency back in June, which will be just another piece of the Senate bill to be reconciled with the House version in conference committee this fall. In addition, the White House has threatened to veto any legislation containing a renewable energy standard.

Renewable Energy Access
The Sietch Blog
Yahoo News

The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy recently released an energy efficiency scorecard for the states. In it, the ACEEE considered state-level policies, programs, and technologies and ranked the 50 states and the District of Columbia in eight categories:

1. Spending on Utility and Public Benefits Energy Efficiency Programs
2. Energy Efficiency Resource Standards
3. Combined Heat and Power
4. Building Energy Codes
5. Transportation Policies
6. Appliance and Equipment Efficiency Standards
7. Tax Incentives
8. State Lead by Example and Research & Development

The “State Energy Efficiency Scorecard for 2006” found that states are spending three times as much money on energy efficiency programs as the federal government. They’re also far ahead on appliance standards and building codes.

By documentng best practices and leadership across the county, a roadmap is created for states and other entities to learn from each other and work off of each other. Not to mention encouraging (perhaps) the federal government to catch up. The researchers at ACEEE found these states to have the best investment and policies on energy efficiency programs, codes, and standards in 2006:

1. Vermont, Connecticut, and California (tie)
2. Massachusetts
3. Oregon
4. Washington
5. New York
6. New Jersey
7. Rhode Island, Minnesota (tie)

ACEEE Acting Executive Director, Bill Prindle, described energy efficiency as a “first fuel” in the transition towards a clean energy economy. That is, the cheapest and cleanest energy is the energy we never have to use:

“Unless we accelerate the pace of efficiency investment, no clean energy strategy will work.”

Maybe Congress is taking some small steps: On Tuesday, the U.S. House voted 312-111 to increase programs that make cars and buildings more energy efficient, along with boosting research and development of clean energy. The vote count would in theory be large enough to overturn the promised veto by President Bush, who wants 4 percent less for the programs covered by the bill. The extra money in the bill would go towards research in wind, solar, geothermal, and hydropower power, as well as ethanol and biodiesel. It doesn’t include anything about the new, sturdier nuclear warhead Bush wanted included.

ACEEE
Associated Press, via Yahoo! News

Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives’ Natural Resources Committee held a hearing on H.R. 2337, The Energy Policy Reform and Revitalization Act. The bill, according to the nonprofit Alliance to Save Energy, promotes alternative energy and efficiency, including a green building program that would require all major new facility construction projects funded in whole or in part through the Department of the Interior, National Ocean Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, or the Forest Service to meet or exceed silver level LEED standards.

But a provision in the bill has other clean energy supporters up in arms.

Subtitle D, called the Global Warming Wildlife Survival Act, would require new hoops and hurdles for wind power production. The American Wind Energy Association says the law would “effectively shut down the wind energy production industry in the United States,” and House members of both political parties questioned why the wind industry should face new requirements that have never applied to other energy sectors. Some of those requirements include:

• Directing the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) to review every existing and planned wind project and penalize operation of wind energy facilities not formally certified by USFWS.
• Landowners and farmers with wind turbines on their property would be subject to inspection requirements at any time.
• Landowners and farmers could face one year in jail or a $50,000 penalty for constructing or operating an uncertified wind turbine, regardless of whether it is for personal or commercial use.

In response to the Global Warming Wildlife Surivial Act, the wind industry points out that it is working with wildlife advocates, government officials, and scientists on a Wind Turbine Guidelines Advisory Committee to examine a national strategy for siting turbines. These stakeholders should decide how best to protect wildlife and support the growth of clean wind power, AWEA says, not Washington bureaucrats.

A report released by the National Academy of Sciences earlier this month concluded that wind turbines cause about .003 percent of human-caused bird mortality. That’s about one thousand times lower than bird deaths from house cats. Previous studies have come to similar conclusions. The report also points out that the locations of wind farms must be sited carefully to minimize the negative impacts on birds and that each wind project should be considered on its own merits. The Audubon Society’s Director of Conservation Policy, Mike Daulton, testified before Congress on May 1 that turbine siting must be done cautiously to minimize the impact on wildlife, but did not discount wind power entirely:

“As the threats of global warming loom ever larger, alternative energy sources like wind power are essential. Many new wind power projects will need to be constructed across the country as part of any serious nationwide effort to address global warming…Audubon strongly supports wind power as a clean alternative energy source that reduces the threat of global warming. Each individual wind project, however, has a unique set of circumstances and should be evaluated on its own merits.”

Committee Chairman Nick Rahall (D-WV) introduced H.R. 2337. West Virginia is the second largest supplier of our nation’s coal.

Further action is scheduled for June.

Alliance to Save Energy
American Wind Energy Assocation
Audubon Society
United Press International
West Virginia Coal Association

Now that we’re about two-thirds of the way into the Democrats’ first 100 days of controlling Congress, we can take stock of some of the major pieces of energy legislation that have wound their way through the Capitol halls.

The House, in particular, has seen some great victories, like passing a January bill that included:

• Removing the corporate income tax deduction for oil and gas companies. Furthermore, those companies will now pay 35 percent tax instead of the 32 percent put in place in 2004.
• Repealing parts of the 2005 Energy Policy Act that gave royalty relief to oil and gas producers for high-cost drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska.
• Creating a "strategic energy efficiency and renewables reserve" to spend revenues generated by the tax and royalty provisions — about $14 billion over 10 years — to develop alternatives and renewable energy.

But the January bill may still face a fight. According to the Houston Business Journal, independent analysts have raised concerns that removing tax incentives to explore and produce oil in the U.S. could cripple oil production. Frank Verrastro, director of energy programs for the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. told the Business Journal that Democrats made a smart move to encourage energy efficiency and conservation, but that rolling back tax breaks is better politics than policy.

The bill now has to make its way through the Senate, where it’s expected to have a tougher ride because of competing Senate bills and a slimmer Democratic majority.

Squabbles within the Democratic party have hindered movement as well. Speaker Nancy Pelosi ran into controversy when she called for the creation of a committee on global warming and energy independence that would draft a bill by June 1 and hold a floor vote by July 4.

Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, didn’t seem excited about the idea at all when he remarked: "They're going to get under the feet of and interfere with those who are trying to do a decent job of legislating. I'm unaware of anything they will do that will be of any value."

He seemed a little cooler in a February letter to the Speaker, in which he and Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), said they had reached an agreement that "resolves questions concerning the authorities and responsibilities" of the proposed committee. But less than two weeks later after a meeting with Pelosi that Dingell called "unhelpful," he said he doubted her June 1 and July 4 deadlines were possible.

Nevertheless, the House did authorized the committee, but with some changes to its responsibilities. It will hold hearings and recommend legislation, but won’t write any laws and will be terminated in two years. Earlier this month, Congressman Ed Markey (D-MA) was named chair of the 15-member panel. He once remarked, “Subsidizing an oil company to drill is like subsidizing a fish to swim."

Houston Business Journal

The United States may take real steps towards a greater energy independence and a stronger economy with the Program for Real Energy Security, or PROGRESS Act. The bill – first introduced in the previous 109th Congress and reintroduced last week in the 110th - aims to jumpstart a massive national effort to diversify U.S. energy sources to include more renewable energy and implement energy-efficient and environmentally friendly technologies.

Authored by Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD) and co-authored by more than 100 House members (so far all Democrats), the PROGRESS Act is designed to complement the House Democrats’ Rural Working Group’s Biofuels Plan. Representative Hoyer explained:

“Fostering a safer, cleaner, and more prosperous America requires that we reduce our dependence on foreign oil. It is past due time to achieve real progress for America. I hope to work with my colleagues in the new Congress as well as with President Bush to pass this critical legislation and take action once and for all to achieve energy independence that strengthens our national security, boosts our economy, creates more jobs, and protects our environment for future generations.”

The PROGRESS Act includes five major proposals:

• Establish a National Energy Security Commission that would bring together government, industry and academic leaders to develop national goals and recommendations that Congress would have to act upon under expedited rules.
• Establish a National Biofuels Infrastructure Development Program that would include development of retail pumps, tanks, etc for biofuels.
• Promote Transit Use & Develop a Rail Infrastructure Program that would create a stimulus package to promote public transit and upgrades to the freight rail system to get an affordable and reliable supply of biofuels to market.
• Ensure Federal Government Leadership in the Use of the Alternatives to Oil by increasing the use of alternative fuels in federal and state fleets, developing biofuel plants in every region of the country, and speeding development of biofuels standards to promote use.
• Establish a New Manhattan Center for High Efficiency Vehicles to develop and promote technologies to double the average vehicle efficiency, diversify fuels, and continue to develop fuel cells and hydrogen.

All of the proposals appear to be a strong step forward, although it’s unfortunate that the last one is named “the New Manhattan Center.” Alluding to the development of the atomic bomb doesn’t really inspire me as much as, say, “the New Apollo Center” would. And it’s ironic that Toyota – a Japanese automaker – blazed the trail for efficient hybrid vehicles, and we’re now trying to surpass them with a program name connected with their nation's destruction!

Although the bill failed in last year's Congress, Rep. Hoyer is hopeful that it will get to the House floor this year with such strong support.

Congressman Steny Hoyer
Southern Maryland Online

With over 20 states taking the lead and implementing renewable energy standards that require a certain amount of energy to come from renewable sources, it’s about time that the federal government at least starts talking about action.

The Dow Jones Newswire reports that Congress is “likely” to pass a renewable energy standard – in this instance called a renewable portfolio standard (RPS) – in the next several months. Renewable energy requirements have stronger support on both sides of the aisle as opposed to the more controversial limits on global warming emissions. Prudential Equity Group analyst James Lucier went so far as to say, “An RPS can almost certainly be done this year… It's one of the few things investors can count on in this Congress."

Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) is drawing up a bill that would require 15 percent of the country’s power to come from renewable energy by 2020. Passing an RPS is a top priority for Senate Democrats and Senate Republicans, explained a Bingaman spokesman.

The Senate has passed an RPS before, only to have it blocked in the House by Representative Joe Barton (R-TX), former Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The current Chairman, Representative John Dingell (D-MI) has been supportive of an RPS in the past. And with a political shift in the House and an influx of folks who see renewable energy as a serious solution to national security, economic development, global warming, and health, the legislation is much more likely to succeed. There’s already an RPS bill in the House – authored by Democrats and Republicans – requiring 20 percent renewables by 2020.

The big hurdle left is the White House. President Bush opposes a federal RPS, arguing that standards are better left to the states. But state laws are creating a nightmare of patchwork regulations in the minds of many utility execs. The newly formed U.S. Climate Action Partnership argues that federal legislation on energy policy, for example, will allow them operate much more efficiently across state lines. This is a very important issue that environmentalists, renewable energy supporters, business, and others can get behind. President Bush could continue to oppose it, but I'm optimistic that enough pressure from enough walks of life could sway him.

The Department of Energy’s (DOE) headquarters in Washington, DC is getting a clean energy makeover.

The U.S. House has passed new legislation approving the installation of a solar photovoltaic system on the DOE's James Forrestal Building on Independence Avenue. Authored by Minnesota’s Congressman Jim Oberstar, a Democrat, the Solar Net project has been the dream of the Congressman for decades. He first testified before the Public Works Committee in 1977 in support of solar energy powering federal buildings. Thirty years and a few gray hairs later, the now-Chairman of the Transportation Committee saw his wish become reality.

The Congressman explained that he and his colleagues in Washington have a responsibility to fight global warming and decrease the nation’s reliance on dirty fossil fuels,

The federal government should play a central role in encouraging innovation in developing new sources of energy. The Solar Net project is a reasonable, practical and simple alternative to traditional electricity sources…It is only fitting that the Energy Department be at the cutting edge of utilizing and supporting applied research in alternative energy.

The Solar Net project is a chance for the DOE to showcase the technology and their leadership on this issue. But it’s also practical: There is incredible opportunity for government buildings at the local, state, and federal level to be more efficient and use the cleanest energy possible.

The $30 million solar panels will be fitted on the south wall of the DOE headquarters, and measure 300 feet long by 130 feet wide.

Associated Press
Renewable Energy Access