Energy Legislation Taking Shape in Senate

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee is currently considering a collection of related bills under the title of the American Clean Energy Leadership Act of 2009. The Act combines a broad range of initiatives that will “promote clean energy technology development, enhanced energy efficiency, improved energy security, and energy innovation and workforce development.”

The Committee has already marked up legislation focused on several important issues, such as clean energy financing; improved transmission siting; energy-water integration; energy efficiency in manufacturing, appliances, equipment and buildings; cybersecurity; nuclear energy; strategic reserves; energy innovation; and workforce development. Recent Committee markups have focused on the Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) and oil and natural gas leasing issues. In the current draft legislation, the RES would require that by 2021, 15 percent of U.S. electricity be generated from renewable sources (26.67 percent of which could be met via energy efficiency improvements). Sources that would qualify as renewable include wind, solar, ocean, geothermal, biomass, landfill gas, incremental hydropower, hydrokinetic, and new hydropower at existing dams with no generation.

In the RES debate, nuclear energy arose as a major issue. Senator McCain (R-AZ) introduced an amendment for Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) to add nuclear energy to the list of qualifying renewables, which failed by a vote of 10-13. In opposing the amendment, Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) argued that because 20 percent of U.S. power already is generated from nuclear sources, allowing it to be eligible for the RES would essentially eliminate the need for production of other renewable electricity.

Other amendments that did not pass included one to increase the RES requirement to 20 percent by 2021, to eliminate the cap on the use of energy efficiency to comply with the RES, and to sunset the RES by 2039 or at a time when a federal law limiting greenhouse gas emissions is enacted.

Regarding oil and natural gas drilling, the Committee was mostly in agreement about opening the eastern Gulf of Mexico for drilling (the only part of the Outer Continental Shelf still under a moratorium). An amendment to allow this expanded drilling was offered by Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and passed by a vote of 13-10. An additional amendment offered by Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) to allow revenue sharing between affected coastal states and the federal government was voted down 10-13.

The Committee markup continues Thursday, June 11.