Senator Mark Udall Statement on Proposed Renewable Electricity Standard Included in Energy Bill

June 4, 2009 -- Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Mark Udall, a member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, released the following statement after a Committee meeting to draft a proposed national Renewable Electricity Standard (RES). The RES proposed by the Committee would require utilities across the country to produce 15 percent of their electricity from renewable energy sources, such as wind or solar power, by 2021.

According to the proposal, utilities could meet up to 4 percent of that goal by improving the efficiency of their current plants. The RES provision is part of a larger bill on energy policy, which is still being finalized.

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Udall played a leadership role when the state of Colorado set an RES, and he has been a strong supporter of a national goal for renewable energy production. Udall believes a national RES would lead to increased use of renewable energy and create hundreds of thousands of new jobs as companies invest in clean energy technology and production. During Thursday’s meeting, Udall introduced – and then withdrew – an amendment that would require utilities to produce 25 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2025.

“While I’m disappointed that the RES proposed by the Committee today isn’t stronger, it is a small but important step in the right direction toward setting a national goal to increase our renewable energy use. My own home state of Colorado is an example of the potential benefit for the rest of the country. Since 2004, when Colorado’s RES was first approved by voters, more than 3,000 jobs have been created in the wind and solar energy fields alone.

“A federal standard has the power to create hundreds of thousands of renewable energy jobs, while reducing pollution and helping us end our dangerous addiction to foreign fossil fuels. Today, I offered an amendment that would increase the standard to 25 percent by 2025 because I thought it was important to emphasize that there is support on the Committee for a stronger RES. I withdrew the amendment because I knew there was not enough support for it yet among Committee members.

“We still have much work to do on the Energy Bill as well as on the Renewable Electricity Standard. I led the effort to create an RES in Colorado, and I will continue my efforts to create a strong national RES as well. I firmly believe that with a stronger standard, we will be able to lead the world in renewable energy production. But without it, we may see that opportunity pass us by.”

Source: Senator Mark Udall