Today the House of Representatives voted 241-172 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 will make significant steps toward
a cleaner and more secure energy future for the United
States.
“We applaud today’s clean energy breakthrough in the
U.S. Congress,” said Environment Florida Director Mark Ferrulo. “The
House of Representatives improved a good energy bill by adding a 15% renewable
electricity standard that will dramatically increase clean renewable power in
this country,” continued Ferrulo.
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 amendment was offered by
Representatives Udall (NM), Rodriguez (TX), and Platts (PA) 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).
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.
Missing from the legislation considered today was an
improvement in fuel economy. The energy bill passed by the Senate in June
includes fuel economy 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, fuel economy and
renewable energy. We urge the Congress to add the fuel economy provisions passed
by the Senate in the final bill,” said Ferrulo.
