Energy

Floor Speech

ENERGY -- (Senate - June 13, 2007)

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Mr. MENENDEZ. Madam President, I rise in support of Senator Bingaman's renewable portfolio amendment which would require that 15 percent of the Nation's electricity be generated from renewable sources by 2020.

I have heard from my office some of the debate which has taken place today. I was surprised that some of my colleagues have characterized this amendment as some sort of Federal giveaway for the wind industry. The renewable portfolio standard will not just benefit the wind industry, of course, but it will also benefit the production of energy from solar, biomass, electricity from biogas, small hydro, geothermal, and ocean and tidal energy projects as well.

This diverse set of energy sources will help protect us from the fuel price increases, such as those we have seen in natural gas recently. In turn, this reduction in demand for natural gas might even cause natural gas prices to fall, causing electricity prices to also fall.

Another economic benefit of the renewable portfolio standard is that it would help these emerging technologies flourish in the United States.

Right now there are renewable energy firms in Europe that are outpacing their U.S.-based competitors. But by driving up demand for renewable energy domestically, we will help develop these industries at home, creating jobs and allowing us to develop energy as a domestic economic engine. At the same time we are meeting our energy challenges, at the same time that we are meeting the economic imperative of our energy challenges, at the same time that we undermine foreign countries--for which we are giving our dollars abroad in terms of our addiction to those energy sources--we can also fuel a domestic economic engine by pursuing these sources.

Of course, the most dramatic effect of the amendment will be its positive impact environmentally. According to the Energy Information Administration, it will reduce carbon emissions by 222 million tons per year by the year 2030, and other reports project reductions of as much as 10 percent per year from the electricity sector. This would be the equivalent of removing 71 million cars from the road. Think about it--removing 71 million cars from the road.

I also want to point out what this amendment will do for the solar energy industry. This amendment will provide triple renewable energy credits to solar energy. As a result, it has been estimated that this will result in a 500-percent increase in solar energy production.

Solar needs to be a significant part of America's energy future. When you have a way to generate energy that produces no carbon emissions, has no moving parts, makes no noise, and results in no adverse wildlife impacts, that is something we as a nation need to be pursuing.

My home State of New Jersey realized this a few years ago and set about enacting policies designed to spur the growth of its solar market. The results have been extremely successful. New Jersey has the second largest solar market in the entire Nation, from 6 installations to nearly 2,000 in just 5 years, over 7 megawatts of installed capacity, and tens of millions of kilowatt-hours produced each year. New Jersey, of course, is blessed with many things, but it is not blessed with more Sun than most of the rest of the Nation. The State simply recognized that by being visionary we could not only start generating large amounts of pollution-free energy in our own State, but we could also provide a kick-start to a whole new industry. That industry, of course, generates not only great energy, truly clean energy, truly renewable energy, but at the same time creates a very significant economic positive consequence as well.

What New Jersey has done we must do as a nation. The renewable portfolio standard amendment, along with the extension of solar tax credits, will help expand the use of solar energy, and, most importantly, lower the cost.

I also want to urge my colleagues to oppose the Domenici amendment--the amendment that Senator Domenici has offered to Senator Bingaman's renewable portfolio standard amendment. That amendment would stall the development of renewable energy and thereby undercut the entire point of this bill. There are some who don't want to challenge the industry. There are those who don't want to bring us to a higher standard. For them, the Domenici amendment to Senator Bingaman's renewable portfolio standard is their out. That is their out.

For those Members of the Senate who don't want to bring us to a higher challenge, who don't want to challenge the industry, who, in essence, are happy to support the status quo, the Domenici amendment is their solution.

The Domenici amendment, however, has numerous problems. To begin with, the substitute would allow States to opt out of the standard for just about any reason--just about any reason. If a State can opt out, the renewable industries will be hesitant to adequately invest in these projects and, therefore, we won't move forward.

The substitute will also weaken renewable requirements by including nonrenewables, such as nuclear power. This would divert money from renewables to an already well-subsidized energy source.

The Domenici substitute would also allow the Department of Energy to designate ``other clean energy sources'' to qualify for clean energy credits without any restrictions on the Secretary--without any restrictions on the Secretary. Who knows what would be included under such a definition. This would leave discretion for the Secretary to include ``clean coal'' or any other source of energy one could put the word ``clean'' in front of.

In addition, the Republican substitute would include energy inefficiency projects and demand-response programs. The more things we add to the standard, the less meaningful the standard becomes. We cannot pit efficiency against renewables. We need both efficiency and renewables to flourish in partnership and not compete for investment dollars.

Once again, I praise Senator Bingaman, the chair of the Energy Committee, on which I have the privilege of sitting, for his amendment, for his vision, for bringing us and challenging us to a higher standard, one that the Nation clearly needs. It will be beneficial for our environment, it will boost our domestic economy, and it will reinforce the actions taken by 23 States that have already shown leadership by instituting renewable portfolio standards. If the States have already shown leadership in this regard, the Nation and the Senate need to show the same leadership.

I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of that important amendment and against efforts to weaken this important provision. Those are, I hope, words that Members of the Senate will take to heart.

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