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

Late last week in a vote of 65-27, the Senate passed an energy bill that made progress in some areas but was stripped down in others.

The crown jewel was certainly a near-40 percent increase in fuel efficiency requirements for vehicles by 2020. For the first time, SUVs, vans, and small trucks fall under the same regulations as passenger cars. Each vehicle group must achieve a 10 miles per gallon (mpg) increase in fuel efficiency by the target year, with an overall average requirement for the manufacturer’s fleet increasing from 27.5 mpg to 35 mpg. The current requirement has not changed in nearly 20 years.

Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) fought the standards and wanted to instead pass a more auto industry-friendly fuel requirement. But he admitted that one reason for his effort’s failure was the growing concern over global warming. From the Associated Press:

“‘The public wants action, rightfully so, on global warming,’ Levin said in an interview. And he added, the auto industry is ‘a juicy target.’”

Although an improvement in fuel efficiency is a long-overdue step forward, some perspective is required. Watthead over at Cleanergy.org points out the 35 mpg standards by 2020 is about where China and Japan are today, where the European Union was five years ago, and where states that adopt California’s tailpipe standards will be in five years.

Other achievements in the energy bill include:

• A 36 billion gallon by 2022 renewable fuels standard, including the specification that at least 60 percent of the requirement must be met by “next generation” biofuels like cellulosic ethanol. Cellulosic ethanol is not made from corn but rather other plant materials like switchgrass.

• New appliance and lighting efficiency standards, as well as a requirement that the federal government accelerate the use of more efficient lighting in public buildings.

• The development of an action plan (but not a requirement) to cut oil consumption by 2.5 million barrels per day by 2017. That’s roughly the same as the total current imports of oil from the Middle East. The Office of Management and Budget is responsible for the plan.

Here’s what didn’t make it in the energy bill:

• No support for coal-to-liquids synthetic fuel production and no support for expanded coal, nuclear, or oil use. So although some key pieces of progressive clean energy legislation were left out, at least we’re (so far) not expanding more of our dependence on dirty fossil fuels.

• No package that would have extended production tax credits and other financial incentives and offsets for renewable energy. The $32 billion package, previously approved 15-5 by the Senate Finance Committee, also included a repeal of tax credits for major gas and oil companies' domestic manufacturing activities.

• No national renewable energy standard that would have required 15 percent of our energy to come from clean, renewable sources by 2020.

The Senate energy bill now awaits action in the House. The House Ways and Means Committee passed a tax provision last week that includes support for wind and biodiesel. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Representative Edward Mackey (D-MA) have both agreed that gasoline use must be more efficient and plan to work to ensure that the House’s action mirrors the Senate’s.

Associated Press, via CIO Today
BioCycle
Cleanergy.org
Sioux Falls Argus Leader

Last week New Mexico ushered in an expansion of its Renewable Energy Standard (RES).

With a sweep of his pen, Governor Bill Richardson upped the existing RES of 10 percent by 2011 to at least 20 percent by 2020. The bill had passed the Senate 32-0 and the House 43-18.

While the old RES only applied to investor-owned utilities, the new law was expanded to include the state’s public utility districts and municipal and rural electric cooperatives. The Governor said in a news release:

“I am proud today to sign a bill that will quadruple New Mexico’s use of clean electricity by 2020…I am proud that both these bills passed with bipartisan support. That is because New Mexico is hungry for clean energy and the good jobs that come with this new industry.”

New Mexico seems to be on a roll. It joined the Western Regional Climate Action Initiative, a regional pact to reduce global warming emissions. A manufacturing plant for the Tesla Roadster (an electric sports car that has zero emissions and goes from 0-60 mph in less than four seconds) is planned for Albuquerque and a biodiesel plant for Clovis.

Keep an eye on Colorado next. The House passed a bill last week 59-5 that will double its RES to 20 percent by 2020. The Senate is its next stop.

Office of New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson
Reuters
WattHead

Nevada State Senator Bob Coffin (D-Las Vegas) wants to repeal a law that states, quite logically, that burning tires for electricity does not constitute renewable energy except in limited circumstances. Coffin believes the existing law hinders other technologies from developing and wants it rewritten to say “any system that involves creating electricity from tires” is renewable. Sounds like he took a page from President Bush’s playbook that declared nuclear power is “a renewable source of energy.”

Senator Coffin wants to count tire burning towards Nevada’s standards for renewable energy production. The state has a Renewable Energy Standard requiring all Nevada investor-owned utilities to get 15 percent of their energy from renewables by the year 2013.

Here enters commonsense: the Republican Senator from Henderson, Joseph Heck, points out that the bill doesn’t prevent the most destructive forms of tire burning from happening. For example, open burning of tires releases known carcinogens, among other nasty pollution problems, and could count as renewable energy with the change in the law.

The Senate Commerce and Labor Committee will vote on the bill at a later hearing.

In addition to renewable tire burning, the Committee heard other bills last week that included exempting co-ops, nonprofits, and renewable energy systems from state environmental review laws. The Committee approved that bill, despite opposition from state regulators and the Nevada Conservation league who argued it creates loopholes that would allow for a utility plant built on private land to sidestep the permitting process.

Sounds like Nevada senators have their hands full, hopefully closing up all the loopholes others are trying to tear open. This is a lesson for all of us: Good laws that encourage a clean, renewable energy system still have to be protected and safeguarded from those wed to the dirty way of doing things. Make sure your elected officials know you’re keeping an eye on them.

Associated Press
Energy Bulletin
Western Resource Advocates

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.

In a landslide vote of 123-10, the Minnesota House of Representatives passed the strongest Renewable Energy Standard in the United States. The bill has the support of Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty, as well as energy and environmental groups, businesses, and utilities. Earlier this month, the Senate passed the measure overwhelmingly 61-4.

The Renewable Energy Standard (S.F. 4) requires Minnesota's largest utility, Xcel Energy, to secure 30 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020, while other utilities’ target is 20 percent by 2025. The state average of 25 percent renewable energy by 2020 is the most aggressive in the nation.

Representative Aaron Peterson (D-Appleton) is the House author. "If you provide the standard, jobs will follow. If you provide the megawatts, businesses will come," he said on the House floor.

This is personally thrilling for me not only because I call Minnesota home, but because I have been working on the Renewable Energy Standard for the past three years at Fresh Energy. Watching this vision unfold into meaningful legislation supported by Democrats, Republicans, businesses, energy and environmental organizations, and utilities has been energizing and rejuvenating, and I am hopeful that we all really can come together to create a clean and efficient energy future.

Photo credit: National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Minneapolis Star Tribune

Cross posted at Maria Energia