PA Delegation Critical to Passage of National Renewable Electricity Standard
Washington, DC: The U.S. House of Representatives voted 241-172 on Saturday to pass “The New Direction for Energy Independence, National Security, and Consumer Protection Act” (H.R. 3221), including an amendment to establish a national Renewable Electricity Standard (RES). The passage of the RES along with the package of legislation included in H.R. 3221 would take significant steps toward a cleaner and more secure energy future for Pennsylvania and the entire United States. The legislation will now be brought to conference with energy legislation passed earlier by the U.S. Senate.
“We applaud this weekend’s clean energy breakthrough in the U.S. Congress,” said Nathan Willcox, Energy & Clean Air Advocate for PennEnvironment. “The House of Representatives improved a good energy bill by adding a 15% renewable electricity standard that will dramatically increase clean renewable power in Pennsylvania and across the country.”
Despite massive opposition by coal-fired utility companies and their allies, a broad coalition of environmentalists, labor unions, farm groups, clean energy developers and investors was able to pass the RES amendment 220-190.
H.R. 3221 would require that utilities generate 15% of their electricity from renewable energy such as wind, solar, or biomass, or through energy efficiency savings by 2020. The standard is similar to Pennsylvania’s state-level Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard, but the federal standard doesn’t include many of the polluting energy sources that qualify for credit under the Pennsylvania standard. The amendment was offered by Pennsylvania Congressman Todd Platts (YorkCounty), along with Congressmen Udall (New Mexico), Rodriguez (Texas) and others. Specifically the RES:
requires that utilities generate a gradually increasing amount of their electric generation from renewable energy sources including solar, wind, biomass, and geothermal, starting in 2010.
establishes a national system for trading renewable energy credits.
allows up to 27% of their targeted requirement through energy efficiency savings (the equivalent of up to 4% of the 15% requirement).
“PennEnvironment applauds Pennsylvania Congressman Todd Platts for his tremendous leadership in championing the renewable electricity standard,” said Willcox. “The standard would help boost the burgeoning clean energy industry in Pennsylvania, but its House passage would have been in serious jeopardy were it not for Congressman Platts’ leadership.”
Other members of Congress from Pennsylvania who joined Congressman Platts in supporting the renewable electricity standard were Representatives Altmire, Brady, Carney, Doyle, Fattah, Gerlach, Holden, Kanjorski, Patrick Murphy, Murtha, Schwartz and Sestak. The Pennsylvania Representatives who voted against the renewable electricity standard were Representatives Dent, English, Tim Murphy, Peterson, Pitts and Shuster.
Other important provisions in the bill include:
- The Natural Resources Title (Title VII) which will take important steps toward restoring sound stewardship to the management of our public lands, ensuring responsible domestic energy development, developing alternative energy sources, and helping America’s fish and wildlife, public lands, coasts, and oceans adapt to global warming.
- Title IX sets aggressive targets for strengthening state building energy efficiency codes, adopts beneficial reforms to Department of Energy (DOE) authority to issue energy efficiency standards for appliance and equipment products, and establishes new efficiency standards for products such as light bulbs, dishwashers and clothes washers.
- The House also passed HR 2776, which includes an extension of the energy efficient commercial buildings tax deduction, closure of the SUV tax loophole, and an extension of the renewable production tax credit. The bill would also eliminate approximately $15 billion in unnecessary oil and gas tax breaks.
Missing from the legislation passed this weekend was an improvement in gas mileage standards. The energy bill passed by the U.S. Senate in June includes gas mileage provisions, which will be brought to conference with the House bill.
“We applaud the House for promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy in this bill. We look forward to seeing Congress pass a comprehensive energy bill that addresses energy efficiency, gas mileage standards and renewable energy,” said Willcox. “We urge the Congress to add the Senate-passed gas mileage provisions to the final bill.”
