American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009
Climate and Energy Bill H.R. 2454 Passes in the House Committee
May 23, 2009
The 33 members of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee, led by Committee Chairman Henry A. Waxman (D-CA), voted to pass the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 on Friday, May 22, 2009. According to a May 22, 2009 press release from the Coalition for Green Bank, the bill includes such lofty goals as reducing emissions in the United States by 80 percent in the next 50 years.
The bill, H.R. 2454, also aspires to create clean energy jobs and work towards energy independence and a clean energy economy. To accomplish these goals, many new guidelines and programs will be enacted. A major burden would be placed on electricity suppliers to dramatically reduce the amount of electricity produced by fossil fuel combustion.
Energy Savings Through Renewable Energy Credits
The text of the bill requires that, starting in 2012, electricity suppliers would be expected to achieve a "total annual energy savings" of 6 percent. The savings will come from renewable energy credits, effectively forcing electrical producers to invest in renewable energy. By 2021 through 2039, providers are expected to achieve 20 percent reductions.
These credits can come from just about any renewable source imaginable. Wind, solar, and hydro power are top on the list. Biodiesel gets a nod along with recovered landfill or mine gas, fuel cells, and geothermal power.
The authors of this bill have not ignored the issue of land use change. Pressure to grow sources of biomass for biofuels can cause deforestation and other negative impacts on land use. The bill provides renewable energy credits for land conservation
The bill also encourages the establishment of a Carbon Storage Research Corporation, which would be an organization of private concerns established to promote carbon sequestration research. An additional function of this board would be to establish a system for trading carbon credits. This appears to be an attempt to set up a carbon economy, which has met with strong opposition from corporate America.
Regulation
Aside from the regulatory and enforcement bodies necessary to carry out these goals, the bill also introduces many other goals. There are provisions to promote energy efficiency in industry as well as contracting. Electric vehicles and an electric vehicle infrastructure are encouraged.
This is an ambitious, comprehensive bill that seems to take the environment into account while promoting new clean energy technologies. Carbon trading and renewable energy credits give a means to measure the goals set forth by the Energy and Commerce Committee. The bill will not be debated further until after the House reconvenes after Memorial Day.
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