US Congress backs wind, solar power

Canberra Times
Monday 6/8/2007 Page: 8

Washington The US House of Representatives has made an unprecedented step toward cutting greenhouse gas emissions as it passed a sweeping energy Bill that requires utilities to produce 15 per cent of their electricity from wind and solar power. The Bill sailed through the House on Saturday on a 241-172 vote, despite fervent opposition from big oil, gas companies and the White House, which has threatened to veto the measure. Remarkably, 26 Republicans crossed party lines to vote for the initiative.

The Bill will have to be reconciled with a Senate version, which passed last June, but is more restrained and emphasises slightly different priorities. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, "Today, the House propelled America's energy policy into the future. This planet is God's creation; we have a moral responsibility to protect it." Ms Pelosi, a Democrat, said it was essential to commit to renewable energy while reducing reliance on fossil fuels. Doing so would help address global warming and snake the country more energy-independent. "It's about our children, about our future, the world in which they live," she said.

A provision in the Bill calls for gradual steps to reduce the role of fossil fuels in generating energy, imposing for the first time a federal standard, tinder which utilities will have to provide 15 per cent of their electricity from wind, solar and other renewable energy sources by 2020. This standard, according to congressional officials, will likely result in a reduction carbon dioxide emissions - a significant contributor to global warming - by 500 million tonnes. The utilities and business interests had argued aggressively against the federal renewables mandate, saying it would raise electricity prices in regions of the country that do not have abundant wind energy.

But environmentalists said the requirement would spur investments in renewable fuels and help address global warming as utilities use less coal. Democratic representative Tom Udall, the provision's co-sponsor, said,"This will save consumers money," maintaining utilities would have to use less high-priced natural gas. He noted that nearly half the states already had a renewable energy mandate for utilities, and if utilities could find enough renewable they could meet part of the requirement through power conservation measures. Power plants account for about a third of US carbon dioxide emissions.

If the best provision of both the Senate and House versions of the Bill are combined, US greenhouse gas emissions would drop a total of 18 per cent by 2030, according to an analysis issued by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. The Senate energy efficiency package, which includes new car efficiency standards, is also projected to reduce US demand for oil by 5.3 million barrels a day in 2030, which is 32 per cent of oil and other liquid fuel imports projected for that year.