CLEAN ENERGY BILL

The RPS, mandating renewable energy, has ONE LAST CHANCE, this week! If you want to weigh in, DO IT NOW at: Power of Wind

Energy Legislation Aims to Curb Nation’s Reliance on Foreign Oil
Sean Higgins, June 15, 2007 (Investors Business Daily via Yahoo News)

WHO
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., Energy bill floor leader Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., Energy bill minority floor leader Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M.; Voices heard in the debate: Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., Sen. John Warner, R-Va., Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., Sen. John Kerry , D-Mass., Sen. Herbert Kohl, D-Wis.
Choose this...(click to enlarge)

WHAT
The Senate began what Reid promises will be its last week of debate over the highly contentious CLEAN Energy Act. At stake are proposals for new vehicle CAFÉ standards, new laws against gas price gouging, the use of biofuels and, most importantly, a national Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) committing the US to creating the resources and infrastructure to obtain 15% of its electricity portfolio from renewable energy.

WHEN
According to majority leader Reid, the bill will not be debated after this week.
The RPS: 15% renewables by 2020.

WHERE
The provisions of this bill affect the entire country. Debate is in the Senate. The House fight is coming.

WHY
- The RPS, which would cut US global warming emissions by 7%, is in trouble. Sen. Bingaman has done everything short of call oil and coal renewables to accommodate the Republican opposition but Sen. Alexander can’t seem to remember there are other renewables besides wind and Sen. Domenici thinks nuclear energy should qualify as a renewable.
- RPS opponents also inaccurately insist the mandate would cause increases in power rates while the most neutral study done on the subject, by the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration, suggests the RPS will not cause a significant rate rise.
- Significant changes in vehicle CAFÉ standards look unlikely. Detroit wins again? (and everytime they win, they lose.)
- The senators hope to excuse their compromises with $13.7 billion in tax incentives transferred from oil and gas benfits to renewable fuels and alternate energy sources.
- Natural gas drilling off the mid-Atlantic coast seems defeated, as are assistance to “fuel dependent” small businesses and a demand that the Attorney General sue OPEC.
...not this. (click to enlarge)

QUOTES
- Klobuchar: "The bill's chances are very good…We have a tremendous amount of bipartisan energy on this."
- Nelson (on better CAFÉ standards): "We have the technology. Do we have the political will?"
- Bingaman: "Utilities could use new or existing generation to comply with the program or they could comply with the program by buying credits from someone who has produced more renewable energy than they were required to produce…"
- Alexander: "The problem is, we do not have any wind in our part of (Tennessee), and a wind portfolio standard simply does not work. It puts a big tax on us we do not need to pay, do not want to pay, does not do us any good…"