SENATE DEM-REPUB RENEWABLE STANDARD (RES)!

A Bipartisan Bill on Renewable Energy
John Collins Rudolph, September 21, 2010 (NY Times)

"In a rare show of bipartisanship, a group of Democratic and Republican senators introduced legislation…that would require utilities nationwide to generate at least 15 percent of their electricity from renewable sources like wind, solar and biomass by 2021…[It] was introduced by Jeff Bingaman, Democrat of New Mexico, and Sam Brownback, Republican of Kansas…

"The bill counts two other Republicans as co-sponsors: Susan Collins of Maine and John Ensign of Nevada…[but] may need several more Republicans on board to clear the 60- vote hurdle to end debate in the Senate…as some Southeastern and Midwestern Democrats may be likely to oppose the measure."



"Senator Mary Landrieu, Democrat of Louisiana, said in an interview with the news service Energy and Environment Daily that she could not support a renewable electricity standard unless the Obama administration’s moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, set to expire on Nov. 30, was lifted…A standalone renewable electricity standard would not have her support, she said…

"The Democrats Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Evan Bayh of Indiana are also considered potential ‘no’ votes on the measure. Ms. Lincoln and Mr. Nelson have expressed doubts about such standards in the past, and Mr. Bayh voted against a renewable electricity standard in a 2009 committee vote."

Finding bipartisan Senate support should be easier with this kind of bipartisan voter support. But will voters support the weaker measure? (click to enlarge)

"A nearly identical electricity mandate was drafted by Mr. Bingaman and passed by the Senate Energy and Environment Committee in 2009 but faced opposition from renewable energy groups and Democrats inclined toward a more ambitious target. But with cap-and-trade legislation all but dead in the Senate, and the prospect looming that no clean energy or climate legislation at all will be passed this year, some of those who previously opposed the measure have hopped on board."

[Marchant Wentworth, spokesperson, Union of Concerned Scientists (former opponents of a 15% RES):] “The R.E.S. passed by the Senate Energy Committee in 2009 is not as strong as it should be, but it would establish a first-ever national framework for increasing the use of renewable electricity…That is a crucial step toward a lower-carbon economy, and we must take it now.”