March 23, 2009

A federal mandate requiring utilities to acquire increasing amounts of renewable energy could be enacted as soon as this year. President Barack Obama had it as one of his energy campaign planks and in recent years both houses of Congress have passed their own versions -- but never at the same time or ever in any final energy bill.

That is changing this year, renewable energy advocates and a key Senate committee spokesman say. A bill is expected to be passed by Congress this year and signed by Obama, though action was deferred until the economic stimulus package was passed. In recent years, either the House or the Senate has passed a mandate in deliberations of energy legislation, only to have it stripped from the final bill before it reached the White House. Some type of mandate is the law in at least 28 states, so there's widespread support for that measure.

Now, with Democrats in control of Congress with even-larger majorities, along with a president who advocates green energy and green jobs, it may well pass. In fact, Obama endorsed a national standard in the presidential campaign in his New Energy for America plan, which included a call for 10 percent of the country's electricity to be derived from renewable sources by 2012 and 25 percent by 2025.

"There will be a law passed this year to create a national renewable energy standard," said Bill Wicker, spokesman for the Democratic majority of the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. "A Democratic president and seven new senators were elected last year and all were promoting an increase in renewable energy as a part of their campaigns." Wicker said the remaining questions involve timing and strategy, whether the bill is combined with other energy proposals, added to other legislation or brought along as a stand-alone bill.

The Edison Electric Institute has long opposed a national standard, citing the uneven availability of different renewable energy resources across the country.

"We believe a national standard won't take account of the different states and regions, where there may not be abundant renewable resources, like in the Northwest and Southeast," said spokesman Jim Owen. "A lot will depend on how it's structured because there could be a lot of cost pressures without available resources." EEI believes the standards issues are better addressed at the state level and worries that a federal mandate might pre-empt policies and timetables already in place.

Some, like Patricia Deese Stanton, are waiting for the specifics: "A lot will depend on how it's structured. I hope there isn't one-size-fits-all because there really is value to having state-specific regulations," says the vice president of the Conservation Services Group, which secures renewable energy resources for clients across the United States.

Available Resources

Gregory Wetstone, the senior director for government and public affairs for the American Wind Energy Association, said the shortcomings have been overstated by opponents.

"There are more available resources than many people say, and where there aren't, there are ample provisions to acquire renewable energy credits," he said. Even without federal action, the list of states that require renewable energy procurement --sometimes called a renewable portfolio standard or renewable energy standard -- has been steadily growing throughout the decade.

The most recent state to add a requirement is Missouri, which passed a ballot initiative in November. By 2021, the state must acquire 15 percent of its electricity from renewable sources. Legislative proposals had been placed before elected officials for eight years running, with only a voluntary standard passed in 2007 to show for it. That law required utilities to make a "good-faith effort" to reach 11 percent by 2021.

"Some thought a voluntary standard was better than nothing, but I would argue it really made no difference," said P.J. Wilson, co-founder of Renew Missouri. The initiative won with 66 percent of the vote in the affirmative.

States with existing mandates, most notably California, have made their requirements even more aggressive. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's climate-change legislation, AB 32 from 2006, mandates a reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions by 2020 to 1990 levels. His executive order last November now mandates a 33 percent standard by 2020 and orders a streamlining of sitting provisions for renewable energy projects.

"To meet the targets of 32 requires more aggressive action and increasing renewable energy is one way to do that," said Karen Douglas, a member of the California Energy Commission. California has again upped the ante, as more states follow suit with renewable energy mandates and the federal government appears ready to act.

Wind and solar energy, which have gained increasing prominence in recent years, would be the central benefactors of a national mandate. But if such a law is to pass, proponents must still overcome the legitimate concerns of those who fear that any legislation would be unfair to states without abundant energy sources.

 

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