Energy Solutions News

Environment Arizona applauds the U.S. House of Representatives for passing a 21st Century energy bill that will harness American ingenuity and put us on a path to cleaner, smarter new energy future for America.  This bill is a breakthrough on energy policy and sets the country firmly on a path to increasing clean energy, lowering energy demand, and reducing U.S. dependence on oil. The bill passed with 235 votes for and 181 against.

We applaud Speaker Pelosi, Chairman Dingell and Representatives Giffords, Grijalva, Mitchell, and Pastor for delivering an excellent energy bill that makes a significant down payment on reducing global warming pollution.  

The Senate and President Bush should act quickly to deliver a bright green holiday for the American public.

Highlights of the bill include:

Promote Clean Energy by following the lead of half the states to establish a national renewable electricity standard, requiring utilities to produce 15% of their electricity from renewable energy sources by 2020.  The bill also extends renewable energy production tax credits for four years and investment tax credits for 8 years.

A national renewable electricity standard will substantially reduce global warming pollution while sparking a clean energy boom across the U.S. According to a recent analysis by Environment America, renewable energy development in states with RES policies is already boosting local economies by luring new manufacturing and other skilled jobs.  UCS projects the standard would save consumers at least $13 billion and cut 126 million metric tons of global warming pollution per year by 2020 (equal to taking more than 20 million cars off the road).

Reduce U.S. Dependence on Oil by increasing fuel economy standards for cars and light trucks to 35 mpg by 2020. This would be the first meaningful increase in fuel economy standards in more than 15 years.  The provision replaces the current standards with an attribute-based system that gives the auto industry tremendous compliance flexibility by allowing for different mileage requirements per vehicle size. The standards in the Senate bill would save 1.2 million barrels of oil a day in 2020, save consumers $25 billion at the gas pumps, and substantially reduce global warming pollution. With oil prices continuing to set new records above $80 a barrel, Americans want new standards and more efficient vehicles now.

Save Energy by adopting strong energy-efficiency incentives and standards. Both the House and Senate bills contain legislation that would help Americans save energy in their homes and businesses. These policies include appliance and lighting efficiency standards, tax incentives, and building codes.