Email

Print

  Transport News

Bid to add renewable energy standard to Senate bill

Natural gas appears to be doing well out of Senator Harry Reid's proposals

Green groups and renewable energy interests have vowed to keep pushing for a renewable electricity standard to be included within the less-than-comprehensive energy bill proposed for the Senate yesterday.

After details emerged of the bill put forward by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, those supporting a nationwide requirement for utilities to supply green power said they would fight for an amendment to the bill.

The Clean Energy Jobs and Oil Company Accountability Act aims primarily to tackle the oil industry in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico disaster.

Avoiding any major mechanisms to effect long-term change in the way energy is generated in the US, instead the Act proposes short-term rebates and grants for green-tinged measures including home efficiency upgrades, natural gas-powered vehicles and to a limited extent electric vehicles (see this BrighterEnergy.org story).

In particular, the Bill proposals sought bipartisan support by leaving out any form of cap on greenhouse gas emissions – as well as a nationwide renewable energy standard (RES).

The American Wind Energy Association pointed to yesterday’s support for a RES by Republican Senator Sam Brownback (see this BrighterEnergy.org story) as suggesting enough Senate votes for an amendment adding a RES to the Act.

Votes

Denise Bode, AWEA CEO, said: “We have 60 votes for an RES amendment and will continue to push for its consideration in this bill. Senator Brownback’s statements about the RES demonstrate the bipartisan support that exists for such an amendment.”

Commenting on the day the wind industry revealed a drop in wind farm installations of 71% compared to last year, Ms Bode said a RES was now “critical” to ensure the US wind industry survives.

“Democrats, Republicans, environmental groups, labor unions, and companies across the country all strongly support the RES because it is essential for creating hundreds of thousands of American jobs, reducing carbon emissions, and increasing American independence from foreign oil,” added the AWEA CEO.

Pressure group Friends of the Earth said the Senate bill offered a “false solution” to the Gulf of Mexico disaster, and that support for natural gas power within the bill was signs that the legislation had been “hijacked” by fossil fuel lobbyists.

Friends of the Earth president Erich Pica said: “While the bill includes investments in solutions like electric vehicles and energy efficient homes, they are crumbs compared to the billions in taxpayer dollars that subsidize Big Oil’s profits and pollution each year.”

Electrification

Business leaders supporting the move towards electrified transport appeared content with the inclusion of the Electric Vehicle Deployment Act of 2010 within Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s Clean Energy Jobs and Oil Company Accountability Act.

This despite the huge difference in funding to be made available for vehicle electrification as compared to the deployment of natural gas powered vehicles.

The electrification of our cars and trucks remains the best way to deal with oil dependence” – Robbie Diamond, Electrification Coalition

Robbie Diamond, president of the Electrification Coalition, said: “We are pleased to see electrification deployment communities, which will guarantee the success of electric vehicles beyond early adaptors, will be included in this legislation.

“The electrification of our cars and trucks remains the best way to fundamentally deal with the dangers posed by oil dependence. If the United States electrified half of its cars and light trucks, we could reduce petroleum consumption by almost five million barrels a day — roughly equivalent to the entire amount we import from OPEC nations today,” added Mr Diamond.

Katherine Hamilton, President of the GridWise Alliance, the industry forum pushing a smarter approach to the grid, praised the support for areas like training, technical assistance and R&D programs within the Act.

Ms Hamilton said: “Electric utilities and independent system operators are now considering how electric vehicles will impact the grid as they plan for future demand; this provision will provide support for that process by ensuring that smart grid technologies are integrated. Electric vehicles enabled by smart grid will be one way that this nation can reduce dependence on oil for transportation while creating new green manufacturing jobs.”