ENERGY BILL: LOBBYISTS DO BATTLE

The issue of global climate change puts more heat on the energy debate than ever before.

An argument being used by utility lobbyists is that though they are developing switchgrass, landfill methane, wind and solar, the House Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) would require them to build "...6,600 wind turbines over 500 sq miles (the size of Phoenix) or 5800 sq miles of switchgrass fields (the size of Connecticut)..." NewEnergyNews suggests putting the turbines in the switchgrass fields. That immediately frees up the southern half of Connecticut for all those folks who work on Wall Street and are turning New Energy into one of the market's biggest plays. Put some landfills underneath the switchgrass field/wind energy installations and you've got more room for the country clubs those investors are going to need, considering how well their investments in New Energy are expected to do. They can also put solar panels on all their roofs, which frees up Phoenix. That's lucky, because Arizona's utilities are busy putting in solar installations there are fast as they can. (And they're developing concentrating solar photovoltaics (CSP), which makes solar viable even with low insolation.)

The whole thing is now down to something about the size of an oil refinery (without the resultant emissions) and a mountaintop coal mine (without the toxicity, danger of cave-ins or dumping). Also, no need for the emissions (and other problems) from bringing oil (from war zones) to the refinery or shipping coal from the mines.

Energy debate heats up
Jeanne Cummings, September 3, 2007 (The Politico)

WHO
D.C. Lobbyists; Edyta Sitko lobbying Greenpeace volunteers, Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) & Rep. Baron Hill (D-Ind.); Southern Co spokesman Jason Cuevas and other utility execs lobbying corporate & private electricity consumers & other lawmakers.

Legislation about global climate change is really about the next generation. And the next.

WHAT
Whatever Energy Bill emerges from this fall’s House-Senate conference process for final debate before being sent to the president’s desk will cover a vast array of private and citizen interests and is keeping D.C. and corporate lobbyists busy.

WHEN
Energy Bills with very different considerations emerged from Senate at the end of June and the House at the end of July. Now a conference process must reconcile the differences into a package to be passed by both bodies and sent to the president for signing, presumably by the end of this congressional session so that the legislation does not get caught in the 2008 presidential primary politics.

WHERE
- Though the lobbyists are busy because the issues straddle an enormous range of interests, there are 2 geographic/corporate groups with particular concerns: (1) southeastern utilities represented mostly by Republicans and (2) states with large fossil fuel resources represented by the “hydrocarbon Democrats.”
- Splits among interests is expected to pit Democrats against Republicans and legislators against the White House.

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WHY
- The House passed a national Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) calling for 15% of every state’s electricity to come from renewable sources by 2020. The Senate rejected it. President Bush has threatened to veto any bill which includes it.
- The House also repealed $16 billion in fossil fuel industry tax breaks put thru by the Bush administration in the 2005 Energy Bill and shifted them to renewable incentives.
- The Senate passed an increase in auto fuel efficiency standards, which the House did not consider.
- Utilities, especially in the south, contend they do not have adequate renewable resources to justify incentivizing New Energy with subsidies and tax credits.
- Fossil fuel producers contend New Energy cannot meet US energy demands and reject ideas about reducing their subsidies and tax credits to do so.
- Dingell is targeted by Sitko and Greenpeace because, as chair of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, he will have a big hand in writing the final legislation. The lobbyists are after Hill and other representatives about auto efficiency or other issues.
- Southern Company spokespeople are quietly telling whoever will listen that it is developing renewable sources such as switchgrass, landfill methane and wind energy and could generate 800 to 1000 megawatts but the 6000 megawatts required by the House bill in the coming decades would cost the company (and ultimately the ratepayer) $20 billion.

A lot is riding on the outcome. Who has the influence?

QUOTES
- Sitko, Greenpeace: “Rep. Dingell has been saying global warming is a huge problem. We haven’t seen action from him. We wanted to see what kind of solutions he wanted to champion…We didn’t get a lot of clear answers…”
- Cuevas, Southern Co: “We will continue our efforts to meet with policymakers and present the facts as we see them in our part of the country, which includes the relative lack of renewable opportunities that we have, especially when it comes to wind and solar…Biomass seems to have the most promise. But at the end of the day, it will still make up a limited part of our portfolio, and we will still need to rely on new nuclear, natural gas, clean coal to meet the energy needs of our customers…”