Baby Steps: The Senate Eyes a Renewable Electricity Standard

At this point, we’ll take what we can get. This is the resigned tune being sung by many environmentalists and clean energy advocates as Senators Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) and Sam Brownback (R-Neb.) unveiled a proposal to implement a national renewable electricity standard on Tuesday. And, amazingly enough, it looks like the votes are actually there.

A renewable electricity standard, or RES, requires that a certain percentage of America’s energy come from renewable energy sources. If you’re thinking to yourself “well what percentage?” then you’ve figured out the problem.

A strong renewable standard promotes the expansion of clean energy technologies such as wind, solar and geothermal. A weak standard doesn’t really do much that wouldn't happen anyway. Last year, Sen. Bingaman proposed a 20 percent RES that was knocked down to 15 percent to win support from some Republicans. The new proposal again seeks that 15 percent target by 2021.

With the recent failures of a climate bill, numerous incarnations of an energy bill and an oil spill response bill, it is hard to criticize a well-meaning senator who is clearly on the right path. Unfortunately, he’s kind of jumping in place instead of moving forward.

In 2009, a little over 12 percent of our electricity was produced from renewable sources. The market is expected to move past 15 percent within the next 10 years on its own. A report by the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Lab found that even a 20 percent standard wouldn’t propel clean energy deployment much past a business as usual scenario.

The inclusion of an energy efficiency option offers another complication. Efficiency measures are the cheapest way to reduce our energy consumption and are more than worthy of federal incentives. However, when you include them in a weak renewable electricity standard, the goal of promoting renewable energy growth becomes that much more diluted. (A 20 percent requirement looks more like 12 percent, for example.) 

That being said, the nation is long overdue for a RES. Even a weak national standard solidifies our commitment to a clean energy future and provides a foundation for stronger, better energy policy. The benefits of a strong renewable energy standard are proven: 28 states and the District of Columbia have already passed their own standards at varying levels.  Many of them are stronger than 15 percent, so this bill would not preempt those programs.

This is an issue with no downside and broad bipartisan support–earlier this month, a bipartisan coalition of 29 governors sent a letter to Congress asking them to enact a strong federal RES. Additionally, two other Republicans have already cosponsored the new bill: Susan Collins (Maine) and John Ensign (Nev.).

If the Senate passes this bill and washes its hands of the matter, the bill will have been a failure. But we have waited embarrassingly long to take our first step, so let’s do what we can and keep the pressure on.

Sign our petition to tell Congress we want a strong renewable electricity standard now!

Curious what progress your state is making with renewable energy?  Check out this helpful site from the U.S. Energy Information Agency (2008 data).

Finally, I’d also like to take a moment to highlight the quality of criticism against a renewable energy standard.  You read above that a 15 percent by 2021 standard will have virtually no impact on the energy market.  Yet the energy experts at the conservative Heritage Foundation are sounding the alarm with their analysis that this basically symbolic law would “kill a million jobs and cut a trillion dollars from the national income by the end of the decade.”  Booga booga!

Photo credit: C. G. P. Grey via Flickr

Graphic credit: Union of Concerned Scientists

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