Renewable Energy Mandate May be Eased in Climate Change Bill

Date: May 4, 2009

Source: News Room

House Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) is suggesting options for a scaled-back renewable electricity standard (RES) of 17.5 percent in an effort to seek a consensus with members of his committee who are interested in easing the compliance burdens of his pending climate-and-energy bill. The fate and design of an RES is a crucial component of the Democrats' broader climate change strategy. Congress may choose to act first on clean-energy mandates while pushing back eventual passage of cap-and-trade legislation despite the argument that enacting them in tandem would lower the costs of achieving the emissions cap. The revised offer from Waxman comes in the wake of late April calls from several swing-vote lawmakers on the panel, including Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA), for a variety of changes to the legislation, including a call to lower the renewable electricity standard to 15 percent and allow an array of energy sources, including waste-to-energy plants, to count as renewable in order to boost flexibility for the power sector.

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