http://www.commondreams.org/news2002/0717-07.htm
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JUNE 17, 2002
3:18 PM
CONTACT: Union of Concerned
Scientists
Alan Nogee 617-547-5552
Paul Fain 202-223-6133
Bush and Power
Companies Oppose Lone Star in Energy Bill
Opposition to Renewable Electricity Contradicts
Administration's Own Study
WASHINGTON - July 17
- The Bush administration and big electric
utilities have announced their opposition to a Senate energy bill
provision that would increase wind, solar and other renewable
energy
produced by major electric companies to 10 percent by 2020. This
opposition to one of the lone bright spots in the energy bill
comes despite findings from the administration's Energy Information
Administration (EIA) and new data from the Union of Concerned
Scientists that show that the provision could be a boon for
consumers and the economy.
"Bush's opposition
to the renewable electricity standard makes
no sense given that its own study shows that the renewable electricity
standard would actually save consumers billions of dollars,"
said
Alan Nogee, UCS Clean Energy Program Director. "The administration
is catering to big utilities that want to continue dishing out
the
same old mix of dirty fossil fuels. The summer air conditioning
and
smog season is a stark reminder of the need to develop clean
energy sources."
The Senate energy bill
includes a renewable electricity standard
that requires major electric companies to increase sales of
electricity from wind, solar and other renewable sources from
2 percent today to about 10 percent by 2020. This would result
in a quadrupling, by 2020, of the amount of clean, renewable
energy produced. The 74,000 megawatts of renewable energy that
would be online by 2020 would be enough to power about 53 million
homes. Twelve states, including Texas, have enacted their own
renewable electricity standards.
"Because of the
Texas renewable electricity standard that President
Bush signed when he was Governor of Texas, the amount of wind
turbines built in Texas last year was more than those built in
the entire U.S. in any year," Nogee said. "It's a shame
that
Bush won't support the clean air, consumer savings and energy
security benefits that renewable energy could provide on the
national level."
New research from UCS
finds that the Senate's renewable
electricity standard could save consumers nearly $3 billion
through 2020. Recent analysis by the Bush EIA shows that a more
comprehensive 10 percent renewable electricity standard than the
one included in the Senate energy bill would save consumers over
$13 billion through 2020 on reduced energy bills. Despite this
evidence, Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham recently sent a
letter to Congress stating that the administration opposes the
federal renewable electricity standard. In addition to opposing
the consumer-friendly renewable energy standard, utilities and
Washington are colluding to propose weakening other consumer
protections in the electricity market.
Energy technologies
like wind, solar and bioenergy can also
help reduce the emissions of heat-trapping gases that are
causing global warming, as well as reducing smog-forming
pollution that fossil-fuel burning power plants emit. These
clean electricity sources are available throughout United States.
For example, Illinois has the technical potential to generate
all of its current electricity needs from renewable power alone.
For more information
on the federal renewable electricity
standard see www.ucsusa.org
