THE RETURN OF THE CLEAN ENERGY STANDARD

A Welcome Return: Bingaman Reintroduces Clean Energy Standard
Laura DiMugno, 1 March 2012 (Solar Industry)

"After several unsuccessful attempts in recent years to pass a renewable energy standard (RES), Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, is resuscitating efforts that many assumed were dead in an election year…The Clean Energy Standard Act of 2012…amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act to include a federal clean energy standard (CES).

"The legislation…does not limit the mandate to renewables like wind and solar, but includes several other low-emissions and clean energy resources such as renewable biomass, natural gas, hydropower, nuclear power or qualified waste-to-energy, as well as "clean" coal with carbon-capture technology…[B]eginning in 2015, large retail utilities - excluding those in Alaska and Hawaii - would be required to obtain 24% of the electricity they sell through clean energy sources, with the mandate increasing by 3% each year through 2035, resulting in what would be a doubling of clean energy by that year."

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"Energy generators would be rated according to their carbon emissions, with more credits being given to those that generate the fewest emissions…[T]he market will determine the optimal mix of technologies and fuels…Utilities would also be allowed to provide clean energy credits and/or make alternative compliance payments (ACPs) to meet the standard. Utilities that fail to meet the CES requirement would be charged a penalty of 200% of the ACP for each kilowatt-hour they sell in violation of the CES…

"According to a report from the Energy Information Administration, Bingaman's CES plan would result in a 20% reduction in harmful emissions by 2025, and a 40% emissions reduction by 2040, compared to a business-as-usual scenario. Notably, in the first decade of the program, the CES would have little to no impact on the average national electricity rate, according to the EIA report…"