Earlier this month, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) released the findings of a report they commissioned on the job impacts of a federal renewable electricity standard (RES). The "Jobs Impact of a National Renewable Electricity Standard" study, conducted by independent, third-party researchers at Navigant Consulting, Inc., found that a 25 percent by 2025 national RES would result in 274,000 more renewable energy jobs over business as usual.
In a just-released study, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) found that "if Congress passed climate and energy legislation that strengthened the energy efficiency and renewable energy standards in [the ACES bill] the House of Representatives approved last June, consumer electric and natural gas costs would be $113 billion lower by 2030, and emitters would pay 4 percent less in compliance costs." Read the entire analysis here.
Posted by: J. Drake Hamilton in Renewable Energy Standard, policy, legislation, global warming, federal issues, economy, economic development, carbon regulation, cap and auction, ACES on
Jun 23, 2009
June 23, 2009
House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Representative:
On behalf of the millions of members and volunteers that our organizations represent, we write to urge you to support final passage of the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (ACES).
We also urge you to do everything possible to strengthen the bill between now and final passage, and along its journey to the President's desk.
ACES will help build America's clean energy economy and launch the United States' first national plan of action to address the growing threat of climate change. ACES offers our country the most important opportunity in generations to jumpstart our economy, create millions of new, well-paying jobs, and set the stage for America to compete and prosper in a 21st century economy.
Posted by: J. Drake Hamilton in Renewable Energy Standard, policy, legislation, green economy, global warming, federal issues, economy, economic development, carbon regulation, ACES on
Jun 23, 2009
Today, President Barack Obama highlighted the historic American Clean Energy and Security Act bill moving in the House of Representatives, saying it will "spark a clean energy transformation that will reduce our dependence on foreign oil and confront the carbon pollution that threatens our planet."
As a Minnesotan, I was pleased that the president praised the great efforts of leaders on the Energy and Commerce Committee as well as Representative Collin Peterson, chair of the Agriculture Committee, for his "many and ongoing contributions" in developing this legislation.
At a news conference broadcast today from the White House, the president called passing this clean energy and climate legislation critical: "The nation that leads in the creation of a clean energy economy will be the nation that leads the 21st century global economy."
According to a brief article posted Monday evening in Roll Call: House Democrats filed a 1,201 page energy package late Monday night and said they are confident that they will resolve all outstanding issues in time for a vote Friday.
"There are some issues still under discussion, but we are confident we can resolve them by the time the bill goes to the floor on Friday," said Drew Hammill, spokesman for Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
Hammill said Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Agriculture Chairman Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) "have all agreed on this approach for moving this historic climate change and clean energy jobs bill."
Citizens should take action and call their representative in Congress today.
Today, 20 leading U.S. climate scientists released an open letter asking for H.R. 2454, the clean energy jobs plan known as the Waxman-Markey bill, to be strengthened and passed into law. The experts called for sustained presidential leadership on climate policy.
This morning, the Senate passed Chairman Bingaman's broad energy bill out of committee by a 15-8 vote. The passage of this bill is quite bittersweet--it's exciting to see a bill that addresses so many vital energy issues, but unfortunately this bill has been significantly weakened and in its current form is not nearly as strong as it needs to be if we are going to transition to a new energy economy.
Posted by: J. Drake Hamilton in Renewable Energy Standard, legislation, global warming, federal issues, energy efficiency, energy conservation, economic development, clean energy, carbon regulation, agriculture on
Jun 11, 2009
Many members of Congress represent districts where farming is a critical part of the economy. That's why our elected leaders need to talk about how passing climate and energy legislation will benefit producers in their regions.
Today, the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee debated legislation introduced by Senator Bingaman to establish a federal Renewable Energy Standard. After loads of amendments were considered, some key pieces of the bill stayed strong while a few weakening pieces slipped in.
The United States can dramatically cut global warming pollution while significantly reducing energy costs for families and businesses in every part of the country. That conclusion is from a new peer-reviewed study by the Union of Concerned Scientists, called Climate 2030 Blueprint. The study shows that combining energy and transportation policies with a strong limit or "cap" on global warming pollution--set at 56 percent below 2005 levels by 2030--would save the typical U.S. household $900 on electricity, heating, and transportation costs in 2030. Also in 2030, businesses would benefit from total net energy savings of $130 billion.
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