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U.S. Senator to Press For 15% Renewable Power Target (Update1)
2010-09-20 20:29:17.740 GMT
(Updates with Bingaman and Reid spokesmen from the fourth
paragraph.)
By Simon Lomax
Sept. 20 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman says
he'll introduce legislation tomorrow requiring utility companies
to get as much as 15 percent of their electricity from renewable
sources such as wind turbines and solar panels.
"The votes are present in the Senate to pass a renewable
electricity standard," Bingaman, a New Mexico Democrat, said
today in an e-mail.
Bingaman, chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural
Resources Committee, said he plans to introduce the renewable-
power legislation with a bipartisan group of senators that
includes Republicans Sam Brownback of Kansas and Susan Collins
of Maine.
Bingaman's committee approved an energy bill last year that
included a renewable electricity standard of 15 percent by 2021.
The legislation to be unveiled tomorrow has the same target,
Bingaman's spokesman, Bill Wicker, said in a telephone
interview.
Earlier this year, Senate Democrats debated whether to wrap
the committee's energy bill into legislation that responded to
the BP Plc oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said in July the
renewable electricity standard wouldn't be part of the oil-spill
bill because it couldn't muster the 60 out of 100 votes that are
often required to pass legislation through the Senate.
Reid Bill
Reid's energy bill would eliminate the $75 million
liability cap for oil spills, toughen offshore oil and gas
drilling regulation, offer federal incentives for vehicles that
run on natural gas and give rebates for energy-efficient home
renovations.
Reid, a Nevada Democrat, wanted the Senate to pass the oil-
spill bill before lawmakers left Washington in early August for
a monthlong break. He dropped plans for a vote after Republicans
and some Democrats said it was too harsh on oil companies that
didn't cause the Gulf spill.
Jim Manley, Reid's spokesman, declined to comment on
Bingaman's prediction that the renewable electricity standard
has enough votes to pass the Senate.
For Related News and Information:
Top Stories:TOP<GO>
Top environment stories: GREEN <GO>
Stories about U.S. and climate: TNI US CLIMATE <GO>
Global emissions data: EMIS <GO>
--Editors: Charlotte Porter, David Marino
To contact the reporter on this story:
Simon Lomax at +1-202-654-4305 or
slomax@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Dan Stets at +1-212-617-4403 or
dstets@bloomberg.net
